The Illinois Times reports WICS anchor Vince DeMentri and station reporter Garrett Brnger reportedly got into a fight Tuesday night in the parking lot of a Hooters.
Both DeMentri and Brnger’s bios have been removed from the Springfield, Illinois ABC station website.
Springfield police were called to Hooters on Horizon Drive shortly after 12:30 a.m. Wednesday to respond to a fight between two people. One person was bleeding from the nose, according to 911 dispatch reports. The two combatants drove away while officers were en route, one in a black BMW, the other in a black Jeep. The vehicle descriptions match vehicles driven by DeMentri and Brnger.
AdvertisementPolice stopped a black Jeep that contained a person reportedly involved in the incident at the intersection of Ash Street and Dirksen Parkway, according to Dan Mounce, deputy chief of the Springfield Police Department, and 911 dispatch records. The deputy chief said that the person told officers that he had fallen from a stool.
“We have no comment,” said a person at the station when asked about the incident on Friday. “You would probably want to talk to the general manager.” A voice mail left with the general manager on Monday was not immediately returned.
DeMentri is no stranger to the spotlight, having been involved in incidents at the last two places he had worked.
At WCAU in Philadelphia, he was fired after being accused of vandalizing fellow anchor Lori Delgado‘s car after their affair ended. He sued the station, but later dropped the suit.
While with WPIX in New York, he was arrested for assault after allegedly punching the chauffeur of a foreign diplomat. He was later cleared of all charges.
He was arrested shortly after 9/11 for impersonating an ATF agent. That charge was eventually dismissed.
“I don’t think you can judge anybody’s character by an incident or two in life,” DeMentri said when he started at WICS. “Nobody’s ever questioned my work, my work ethic. … I’m a good person. And I hope to be able to show that to the people of Springfield.”