Schubeck Arrested Over Drunk Driving

Former television news anchor John Schubeck was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after he was seen driving erratically on the Ventura Freeway in Woodland Hills, the California Highway Patrol reported Friday.

Schubeck, 54, of Westlake was stopped by a CHP officer at 2:20 a.m. Thursday while driving west on the freeway near Canoga Avenue, Officer David Grajeda said. Schubeck, a longtime Los Angeles news anchor who was fired in late 1988 by KCBS-TV Channel 2 in a reshuffling of the newscast lineup, was driving home when he was pulled over after weaving in the road, Grajeda said.

Grajeda said Schubeck failed a roadside sobriety test and was arrested. A test later determined that Schubeck’s blood-alcohol level was 0.15%, nearly twice the state legal limit of 0.08% for drivers, Grajeda said.

Schubeck, who listed unemployed newscaster as his occupation, was booked and released from the Van Nuys jail, officials said.

Schubeck’s driver’s license was suspended immediately after his arrest under a new state law that took effect July 1, Grajeda said. Under the law, arresting officers can take the license of a suspected drunk driver and it is suspended for four months. The suspect is then issued a 45-day temporary license by the arresting officer.