An iconic Bay-Area news anchor has been arrested twice within hours after being charged with assaulting his brother and driving under the influence.
Former KTVU presenter Frank Somerville, 65, was arrested twice for allegedly under the influence within nine hours of being taken to a local jail.
Jail records show Somerville was in Santa Rita Jail on Monday before posting $10,000 bail on Tuesday. He posted $32,500 bond after the first arrest.
The 31-year-old KTVU veteran had anchored the station’s 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. shows for 13 years before choosing not to extend his contract in January 2022.
He had been arrested a month earlier for drunk driving.
Prior to his release from KTVU, Somerville had been suspended twice in 2021 for tripping and scrambling his words during broadcasts, according to the Mercury News.
Former KTVU presenter Frank Somerville, 65, has been arrested twice for allegedly assaulting his brother and driving under the influence
The 31-year-old KTVU veteran had anchored the station’s 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. shows for 13 years before choosing not to extend his contract in January 2022.
Police say 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 subdued after a fight.
Local media reports that Somerville had an altercation with his brother at their father’s home in the Berkeley Hills neighborhood.
Upon arrival, officers determined Somerville was intoxicated and refused to leave the property after being told by the owners.
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 violation of probation.
Officers transported the local celebrity to Berkeley Jail without further incident.
After his initial release, Somerville reportedly returned to the residence to collect his property around 3:26 a.m. 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 the police again.
Prior to his release from KTVU, Somerville had been suspended twice in 2021 for tripping and scrambling his words during broadcasts, according to the Mercury News.
Somerville (right) with her daughter in a photo posted on Facebook
Upon arriving the second time, officers say they found Somerville driving his car. Police say they found visible signs of intoxication.
Officers also said they saw Somerville driving under the influence.
In this incident, the man was arrested on suspicion of impaired driving and violation of probation.
He was taken back to Berkeley prison before being transferred to Santa Rita prison for unknown reasons.
Somerville is expected to be arraigned Thursday in Oakland for his last two arrests in Berkeley Hills.
In December 2021, he was arrested in similar circumstances.
At the time, police responded to a call of an accident at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Broadway in Oakland.
Somerville was driving a Porsche and allegedly ran over another car.
The collision was caught on videoo and showed one vehicle pushing the other through an intersection while both cars were still tied together.
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 KRON Starting in March, Somerville said he was “trashed” after being alone over the holidays and “just wanted to go to Taco Bell.”
Just a month later, when his contract ended, he left KTVU.
Ironically, in 2015, Somerville and KTVU posted a video about the dangers of drunk driving on 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 matter, Somerville was keen to point out that the media disproportionately covered the disappearances of white women.
news from mercury reported he wanted to add a tag at the end of the station’s coverage sharing the inconsistency.
