OAKLAND — The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has filed two misdemeanor charges against former KTVU news anchor Frank Somerville in connection with his arrest late last year on suspicion of driving under the influence, authorities said.
According to a police statement in charging documents obtained Thursday, officers responded to Broadway and West Grand Avenue at about 8:20 p.m. Dec. 30, 2021 for a vehicle collision. They learned that Somerville had been driving a 2014 Porsche east on West Grand when he rear-ended an Audi stopped at the intersection.
After the collision, the Audi’s driver managed to get out, according to the statement, but Somerville kept driving east on West Grand, pushing the Audi across the intersection until it hit a pole on the southwest corner. At that point, Somerville stopped driving; police arrived a short time later.
Officers who spoke with Somerville said he “exhibited symptoms of being under the influence of an alcoholic beverage: bloodshot/watery eyes, thick/slurred speech, and odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person.”
When an officer-administered field sobriety test showed signs of impairment, Somerville consented to an alcohol screening test; he blew two tests, registering .239 and .219 blood-alcohol levels, according to the statement. A search-warrant obtained blood sample later yielded a result of .24 blood-alcohol content.
He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, booked into Santa Rita Jail on that charge and later released with a citation to appear.
On Tuesday, the district attorney’s office charged Somerville with driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as driving with a blood-alcohol level over .08, with an added clause for having a level over .15.
Neither Somerville nor his lawyer could be reached Thursday afternoon for comment. His next scheduled court appearance will be 9 a.m. May 6 at Oakland’s Wiley Manuel courthouse, a district attorney spokesperson said.
Somerville has had a tumultuous year. Last fall, he told this news organization that he anticipated his days anchoring at KTVU were over after he was suspended in September for an off-air dispute about the coverage of the Gabby Petito case.
He also was off the air for much of last summer following a now-infamous May 30, 2021 newscast, when he repeatedly slurred and stumbled over his words and appeared to have trouble reading off the teleprompter.
Staff writers Harry Harris and Rick Hurd contributed to this report. Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
Source: www.mercurynews.com