Former Bay-Area news anchor arrested twice within 9 HOURS after confrontations with relatives
An iconic Bay Area news anchor was arrested twice within hours after being charged with assaulting his brother and driving under the influence.
Ex-KTVU anchor Frank Somerville, 65, was taken into custody twice while allegedly under the influence within a nine-hour window before being booked into a local jail.
Jail records show Somerville was in Santa Rita Jail Monday before posting $10,000 bail on Tuesday. He posted $32,500 bail after the initial arrest.
The 31-year-old KTVU veteran had anchored the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. broadcasts for 13 years before they opted not to renew his contract in January 2022.
He had been arrested a month earlier on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Prior to his departure from KTVU, Somerville was suspended twice in 2021 for tripping and speaking his words during shows, according to the Mercury News.
Ex-KTVU anchor Frank Somerville, 65, was twice taken into custody for allegedly assaulting his brother and driving while intoxicated
The 31-year-old KTVU veteran had anchored the 6 and 10 p.m. broadcasts for 13 years before they opted not to renew his contract in January 2022.
According to police, the first call came in around 6:36 p.m. Monday from the 800 block of Indian Rock Avenue for reports of a man being suppressed after a fight.
Local media reports that Somerville got into a fight 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 do so 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 Berkeley Jail without further incident.
After his initial release, Somerville reportedly went back to the residence to pick up his property around 3:26 a.m. on Tuesday.
There he rang the doorbell and said he was looking for something he still had.
He kept pressing the button until the victim called the police again.
Prior to his KTVU exit, Somerville was suspended twice in 2021 for tripping and speaking his words during shows, according to Mercury News
Somerville (right) with his daughter in a photo posted to Facebook
When they arrived a second time, officers said they found Somerville behind the wheel of his car. Police say they found signs of visible drunkenness.
Officers also reported seeing Somerville driving under the influence.
The man was arrested in that incident suspicion of driving under the influence and probation violation.
He was returned to Berkeley Jail before being transferred to Santa Rita Jail for unknown reasons.
Somerville is scheduled to face charges in Oakland on Thursday for his two most recent Berkeley Hills arrests.
In December 2021, he was arrested under similar circumstances.
At the time, police were responding to a call of an accident at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Broadway in Oakland.
Somerville was driving a Porsche and reportedly hit the back of another car.
The collision was captured on videoo and showed one vehicle pushing the other through an intersection while the two cars were still stuck.
In December 2021, Somerville (left) was arrested for drunk driving after video showed his vehicle pushing another car through an intersection in Oakland, California
In an interview with crown as of March, Somerville said he had become “thrown out” after being alone over the holidays and just “wanting to go to Taco Bell.”
Just a month later, when his contract expired, he left 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 coverage of missing woman Gabby Petito and black women.
According to people familiar with the case, Somerville wanted to point out that the media was paying disproportionate attention to the disappearances of white women.
The Mercury News reported he wanted to add a tag to the end of the station’s coverage to share the inconsistency.