An iconic Bay-Area news anchor was arrested twice within hours after being accused of assaulting his brother and driving under the influence.
Ex-KTVU anchor Frank Somerville, 65, was taken into custody twice while reportedly under the influence within a nine-hour span before being booked into a local jail.
Jail records show that Somerville was in the Santa Rita Jail Monday before posting a $10,000 bail Tuesday. He posted a $32,500 bail after the first arrest.
The 31-year KTVU veteran had anchored the station’s 6pm and 10pm broadcasts for 13 years before they chose not to extend his contract in January 2022.
He had been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving a month earlier.
Prior to his KTVU exit, Somerville had been placed on suspension twice in 2021 for stumbling and slurring his words during shows, according to the Mercury News.
Ex-KTVU anchor Frank Somerville, 65, was taken into custody twice for allegedly assaulting his brother and driving while under the influence
The 31-year KTVU veteran had anchored the station’s 6pm and 10pm broadcasts for 13 years before they chose not to extend his contract in January 2022
According to police, the first call came in around 6.36pm on Monday from the 800 block of Indian Rock Avenue for reports of a male being subdued after a fight.
Local media reports that Somerville had gotten into an altercation with his brother at their father’s home, located in the Berkeley Hills neighborhood.
Upon arrival, officers determined Somerville was intoxicated and refused to leave the property after being told to by the homeowners.
While there, the former news anchor allegedly threatened his brother which led to the violent interaction between the two, CBS Bay Area reported.
Somerville was arrested for criminal threats, public intoxication, assault, and a probation violation.
Officers transported the local celebrity to the Berkeley Jail without further incident.
After his initial release, Somerville allegedly went back to the residence to retrieve his property around 3:26am on Tuesday.
There, he rang the doorbell and said he was looking for something he had left.
He continued to press the button until the victim called police again.
Prior to his KTVU exit, Somerville had been placed on suspension twice in 2021 for stumbling and slurring his words during shows, according to the Mercury News
Somerville (right) with his daughter in a picture posted to Facebook
Upon arrival the second time, officers say they found Somerville behind the wheel of his car. Police say they found signs of visible intoxication.
Officers also reported having seen Somerville drive while under the influence.
In that incident, the man was arrested on suspicion of DUI and probation violation.
He was transported back to the Berkeley Jail before he was transferred to the Santa Rita Jail for unknown reasons.
Somerville is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday in Oakland for his two most recent arrests in Berkeley Hills.
In December 2021, he was arrested under similar circumstances.
At the time, police responded to a call of a crash at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Broadway in Oakland.
Somerville had been driving a Porsche and reportedly rear-ended another car.
The collision was caught on video and showed one vehicle pushing the other through an intersection while the two cars were still attached.
In December 2021, Somerville (left) was arrested for drunk driving after video showed his vehicle pushing another car through an Oakland, California intersection
In an interview with KRON from March, Somerville said he had gotten ‘trashed’ after being alone for the holidays and just ‘wanted to go to Taco Bell.’
Just a month later when his contract ended, he exited KTVU.
Ironically, in 2015, Somerville and KTVU posted a video about the dangers of drunk driving to YouTube.
In 2021, Somerville also made national headlines when he questioned the racial disparity between the coverage of missing woman Gabby Petito and black women.
According to people familiar with the matter, Somerville wanted to point out that the media was disproportionately covering white women’s disappearances.
The Mercury News reported he wanted to add a tag at the end of the station’s coverage sharing the inconsistency.
