Frank Somerville arrested for battery, claims self-defense

(KRON) — Former KTVU anchor Frank Somerville was arrested Monday evening on suspicion of battery, KRON4.com has confirmed. In an interview with KRON4 shortly after his release from custody, Somerville, a long-time fixture in the Bay Area news market, said it was a case of self-defense and that charges were being dropped.

KRON4 is awaiting response from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department for more information on the arrest and status of charges.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Somerville was sent to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin Monday night and was in custody early Tuesday morning. However, when KRON4 spoke to Somerville around 11 a.m. Tuesday, he had since been released.

According to KRON4’s sources, the incident occurred around 5:45 p.m. at a residence on the 1000 block of Arlington Avenue in Oakland. The victim left the residence and relocated to a second residence in West Oakland and was followed by Somerville.

The former anchor was arrested at the second location and charged with battery.

News of the arrest was first reported in the San Jose Mercury News. Jail records cited by the Mercury News indicate the arrest happened at 6:53 p.m. Monday. KRON4 is working to independently confirm further details around the arrest.

In a post on his Facebook page Tuesday, Somerville addressed the arrest, claiming it stemmed from an altercation with a family member.

Somerville said he was arrested even though the family member told police they didn’t want to press charges.

KRON4 has not independently confirmed these details.

Somerville was previously arrested in June 2023 when he was arrested twice in the space of one day for incidents at a family member’s home in the Berkeley Hills. Prior to that he had been arrested in Dec. 2021 in a high-profile DUI crash that was captured on video.

KRON4 News spoke to Somerville last month. At the time, he said he had been 248 days sober and had been going to the gym six days a week.

“I love telling my story. I love showing people, because I feel as someone in the public eye, it’s important for me to say, ‘Yeah, I had that same problem. This is how far I fell, this is how pathetic I was,’ and look at me now,” Somerville told KRON4. ” And I hope people can see that and maybe think, ‘Geez he did it, maybe I could do it.'”

“And FYI I’m 9 months clean,” Somerville posted on Facebook Tuesday. “And I was completely sober yesterday.”

This is a developing story. Check back for udpates.