Lehighton man gets prison time for resisting arrest

A Lehighton man was sentenced to a county prison term Thursday morning on a resisting arrest charge, but he won’t start serving it because of a pending appeal.

Eric Martin Schlier, 49, was found guilty by a jury on Feb. 8 of the resisting charge. However, the panel found him not guilty of driving under the influence, aggravated assault and persistent disorderly conduct. Presiding Judge Steven R. Serfass found him guilty of two motor vehicle code violations.

Serfass sentenced Schlier to serve two to one day less 24 months on the resisting count and fines totaling $35 and costs on the two summary offenses. He was given credit for three days already served. He was also ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment, pay court costs of about $1,000, pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on parole and render 100 hours of community service.

Schlier was arrested by Lehighton police on Jan. 17, 2016, when officers observed him operating a pedalcycle along Route 209 without lights on it. They then observed him failing to stop for a posted stop sign near Bridge Street. Police attempted to stop Schlier. He continued on, but did eventually stop.

He struggled with officers when they took him into custody on suspicion of drunken driving.

Serfass delayed the start of the jail term to Dec. 6 pending an appeal. Public defender Paul J. Levy appealed the conviction and arrest of Schlier after the verdict. The appeal was recently denied by Serfass. Levy told Serfass his client wants to appeal the decision to the state Superior Court. Levy has 30 days to file the appeal, the reason Serfass delayed the start of the prison term. If he doesn’t appeal, he must report to the prison on that date. If the appeal is filed, Levy can petition to have the start of the sentence delayed until the state court renders a decision.