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Despite a probation sentence of nine-months being fulfilled, a state appellate court upheld the punishment imposed upon Aneisa Ivette Altieri, 25, who was convicted by a Luzerne County jury of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct stemming from a traffic stop she claimed was illegal.

Wilkes-Barre Township police stopped Altieri, of Edwardsville, for driving a Honda that had an expired registration on May 10, 2018. Police spotted Altieri driving the unregistered vehicle on Highland Park Boulevard and proceeded to follow her when she parked in the Walmart Supercenter parking lot, according to court records.

Police in court records say Altieri “yelled and screamed” at officers telling them they had no right to stop her since she was in a parking spot.

Altieri refused to roll down the driver’s side window and refused to exit the vehicle. An officer opened the unlocked passenger side door, reached over Altieri and opened the driver’s side door, court records say.

After Altieri was escorted out of her vehicle, she punched two officers and continued to scream, according to court records.

A jury convicted Altieri of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct following a trial before Judge David W. Lupas on June 26, 2019. Lupas found her guilty on summary offenses of driving without a license and operating a vehicle without a valid inspection and found her not guilty of driving an unregistered vehicle.

Lupas sentenced Altieri to nine months probation.

Altieri appealed the conviction to the state Superior Court arguing the traffic stop was illegal as it occurred in a “traffic way,” and not on a “public highway.” She claimed under the state’s Motor Vehicle Code, police can only enforce vehicle violations on “public highways,” and not traffic ways, which she considered Walmart’s parking lot to be since it is privately owned. She also challenged the weight of the evidence behind the jury’s verdict of finding her guilty on resisting arrest and disorderly conduct offenses.

A three-member panel of the Superior Court in a 15-page opinion issued Tuesday upheld Altieri’s conviction and sentence.

The appellate court opined police initially discovered Altieri was driving an unregistered vehicle on Highland Park Boulevard, which is a public highway, and her actions during the traffic stop by punching two officers with a closed fist was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict.

Superior Court upholds traffic stop conviction