Murrysville attorney wounded by self-inflicted gunshot during arrest, police say
A suspended attorney had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Murrysville office as police tried to take him into custody on theft charges, according to authorities.
A search warrant was served around 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the office of Robert C. Klingensmith on Old William Penn Highway just outside Export, according to Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Melanie Jones. There was a brief standoff as police tried to get Klingensmith to come outside.
A video shows police subdued Klingensmith with a Taser after he emerged from the office, shirtless and bloodied, and did not comply with orders to stop moving.
He was taken to a hospital for treatment of what Jones said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His condition was unclear Sunday.
Police had been searching for Klingensmith, 61, since Thursday, when an arrest warrant was issued on three counts of theft and a single count of financial exploitation of an older adult. He is accused of taking $312,000 from a client.
Katie Dusch lives near Klingensmith’s office and witnessed the large police presence Saturday evening. She shared with TribLive a video she took of the standoff’s conclusion.
Three officers are standing behind a car in the parking lot pointing guns toward the building and yelling. Klingensmith comes out of the building, not wearing a shirt and covered in blood, and walks steadily toward the three officers. Police can be heard yelling, “Get on the ground.” As he approaches the trio, one officer appears to pull out a Taser in one hand while still holding a gun in the other. Dusch said it looked like Klingensmith was struck with the Taser and then hit the ground as additional officers converged on him.
Klingensmith was taken away in an ambulance.
“Stuff like that doesn’t happen around here,” Dusch said of the normally peaceful neighborhood.
The officer that used the Taser was a member of the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office’s fugitive apprehension unit, according to a social media post from the department.
Deputies initially tried to make entry into the law office building with help from a Murrysville police drone when they heard a single gunshot, according to the post. They retreated and called in the Westmoreland SWAT team.
While the three deputies were standing behind the car, they reportedly heard the sound of a firearm racking multiple times before Klingensmith came outside.
Klingensmith’s license to practice law was placed on temporary suspension May 13 by the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, according to a court order. That suspension remains in effect.
The board was notified of suspicious activity in October 2024 after a bank account that Klingensmith used to hold client funds was overdrawn. A state investigator on May 2 contacted Westmoreland County Detective Ray Dupilka and shared documentation of Klingensmith’s handling of the estate of Anne Marie Wiley, according to court papers.
Klingensmith in September 2021 was appointed as an agent under Wiley’s power of attorney, which authorities said allowed him access to her financial accounts. Over the next five months, Klingensmith is accused of taking $95,280 from Wiley’s accounts by writing checks to the law practice and making ATM withdrawals, according to court papers.
Wiley died in April 2022 at 90, according to her obituary.
In the following days and weeks, Klingensmith closed her accounts, withdrew $91,000, created an estate account in her name and put $86,000 in it, police said. Eighteen checks totaling $86,000 were written from that account to Klingensmith Law between April and August 2022.
Police said Klingensmith sold Wiley’s share in a Washington County apartment building in March 2024 and deposited $131,500 in proceeds into a trust account with the law firm. Checks totaling the same amount were written to Klingensmith and the law firm between March and October 2024, according to court papers.
No disbursements were made to Wiley’s four heirs under her will, police said.
Detectives were investigating additional allegations against Klingensmith that came to light after the charges were filed, Jones said.
Klingensmith unsuccessfully ran for an open district judge seat in Export in 2023. He is a Franklin Regional graduate and attended Penn State University and Duquesne University’s School of Law. He was licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania in 2001, according to disciplinary board records.
During his unsuccessful campaign, Klingensmith said he had experience in criminal, civil, family and estate law. A banner promoting his campaign still hung on the office building Sunday.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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