Derrick Penny

Derrick Penny was a 54-year-old Black man known as an outgoing and fun person to be around. A father of ten children, he was remembered by loved ones as a "jack of all trades." His life, along with those of four other men, was tragically taken in a violent encounter during the summer of 2019.

On the afternoon of Saturday, July 6, 2019, a person who had spent time with a group of men at a St. Louis County apartment the night before returned to the residence near Dellwood. Inside, they made a horrific discovery. Five men lay dead, all victims of gunshot wounds. The St. Louis County police identified them as Derrick Penny and his twin brother, James L. Penny, both 54; Ronald Brewster Jr., 40; Rodney E. Holt, 37; and 65-year-old Rondall Mullin.

The quintuple homicide investigation quickly pointed toward a robbery gone wrong. Authorities stated that the crime was likely connected to drug activity within the apartment. The investigation led them to two suspects just days after the killings. Terrance Wesley, then 29, was arrested following a three-hour standoff about a quarter-mile from the crime scene. The second suspect, 30-year-old Anthony Watkins, was taken into custody separately at police headquarters.

Both Wesley and Watkins had prior criminal records. Wesley had past convictions for burglary and domestic assault, while Watkins had a history of drug convictions in the St. Louis area. Prosecutors charged each man with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted robbery, and ten counts of armed criminal action. Charging documents alleged that the pair had forcibly attempted to rob the victims at gunpoint, then returned to the apartment and fatally shot them.

The cases against the two men moved through the St. Louis Circuit Court, ultimately reaching different conclusions. Following a trial, one of the defendants was acquitted on all charges. The other defendant’s case ended with guilty pleas for the murders, resulting in a prison sentence. With the resolution of the criminal proceedings, the investigation is now considered closed.