East Rochester man walking amongst cars on Highland St. taken into custody

Michael J. Sollenberger (Strafford County Jail photo)

EAST ROCHESTER - An East Rochester man remains at Strafford County Jail today after he was arrested near the intersection of Eastern Avenue and Highland Street on Tuesday around 11:45 a.m.
Police say they got involved after dispatch received a report of a male with blonde hair, possibly in his 20s, who was reported to be walking into the lanes of traffic while talking to himself.
Soon after an officer arrived on scene and located a male matching the description of the subject walking dangerously close to the travel portion of the roadway.
The officer attempted to speak to the man to check his welfare, however the male kept walking and would not stop to speak with the officer.
The man then kept walking dangerously close to the road when there was enough space to walk more safely, according to Rochester Police Capt. Todd Pinkham.
"The male continued to refuse to stop for the officer, so the officer attempted to detain him," Pinkham said. "At this point the male began pulling away and resisting."
Eventually the officer was able to place the male in handcuffs and take him into custody, Pinkham added, noting that the male then started spitting at the officer and refused to identify himself.
He was later identified as Michael J. Sollenberger, 28, of 13 Fox Lane.
Sollenberger was charged with three counts of resisting arrest, one count of simple assault and pedestrian on a roadway, all misdemeanors.