Police say cash from wallet stolen at Westmoreland courthouse used to pay court fine

Rich Cholodofsky, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

Mar. 3—A Hempfield man was charged with the theft of a wallet from an X-ray scanner at the front entrance of the Westmoreland County Courthouse.

Park Police said Verne Klingerman II, 54, used money from the stolen wallet to pay a $30 fine one floor above in the county's Clerk of Courts Office.

According to the criminal complaint filed with Greensburg District Judge Chris Flanigan, Klingerman placed a blue jacket on the conveyor belt of the X-ray machine as he entered the courthouse at 12:30 p.m. Monday, went through the metal detector, then grabbed the coat and a wallet before heading into the building.

Park Police Officer Jenna Derco said that, 10 minutes later, another man notified officers he had left his wallet behind at the security area, but the item was not found.

When Klingerman returned to the courthouse entrance a short time later, he was questioned and denied knowledge about the missing wallet. A search discovered the item in his back pocket and contained the identification of the man who had reported it missing, Derco wrote in the complaint.

The wallet's owner said one $20 bill and one $10 bill had been removed and, according to the criminal complaint, Derco said Klingerman produced a receipt that showed he had just paid a $30 fine. Klingerman told police he "may have used the wrong wallet," according to the complaint.

Klingerman was charged with one count of theft. Flanigan released him on a $2,500 unsecured bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 18.

According to court records, Klingerman has two other pending cases awaiting preliminary hearings. He is scheduled to appear March 5 for a preliminary hearing on charges of strangulation and harassment for an incident in October and one on March 12 on charges of marijuana possession, harassment, disorderly conduct and possession of drug paraphernalia that were filed in January.

Klingerman's criminal record dates back to the 1980s and includes his most recent conviction, a drunken driving offense in 2016.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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