Celebrity chef Justin Sutherland was arrested and indicted Monday on charges he threatened to shoot his girlfriend and then held a gun on her in St. Paul last week.
Sutherland, 39, was charged with felony threats of violence in Ramsey County District Court in connection with the incident that happened just after 8 p.m. Friday night in the 800 block of Front Avenue, where police responded to a call about a man with a gun.
The woman told police Sutherland pointed a gun at her, threatened to shoot her, choked her and hit her in the chest with the gun, according to the criminal complaint. She feared for her life and put her hands up and begged him not to shoot her, the complaint said.
Officers arrested Sutherland that evening during a second police visit regarding a domestic violence report, and while in custody, Sutherland claimed the accusations were false, according to the complaint.
Sutherland appeared in court Monday morning and was released without bail and ordered to surrender any guns he owns to police within 24 hours. He is due to appear in court again on August 16.
Sutherland's attorney, John Daly, told the Star Tribune that the allegations are “full of falsehoods. He has never physically assaulted anyone, he has never pointed a gun at anyone or choked anyone. … Mr. Sutherland is a non-violent, warm and energetic member of the community.”
Sutherland was the first executive chef of the Handsome Hog, a Southern restaurant that opened in St. Paul in 2016. He severed ties with the restaurant but later opened Big E, a breakfast sandwich spot on Grand Avenue in St. Paul.
He also had plans to open a new restaurant with his father, Kelly Sutherland, at the former site of Golden Time Café in St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood. Last month, he announced plans to open Pearl & the Thief on the first floor of the 22-story O2 luxury tower in Minneapolis' Mill District.
Sutherland has made numerous television appearances, competing on Top Chef and winning Iron Chef America, and won an Emmy Award for the web series Taste the Culture.
According to the criminal complaint:
A 911 caller reported seeing a man, later identified as Sutherland, holding a gun and entering through the back door of the building with a woman with her hands up just after 8 p.m.
At the same time, a second 911 caller said she was on FaceTime with her sister and that her boyfriend was trying to kill her. The caller heard Sutherland say, “I wish you'd just die right now.” The caller added that Sutherland had his hands around her sister's neck. The caller also said Sutherland grabbed her cell phone and threw it away.
Police arrived and saw Sutherland coming out of the back of the building. The officers ordered him to turn away and put his hands on his head. “I called 911 and you said, [expletive] Arrest me?' he reportedly shouted during the complaint. [expletive] kill me.' “
Sutherland complied with police commands during the arrest but yelled racial slurs at officers.
Another man emerged from the building and told police he and Sutherland were longtime friends. He told police that Sutherland had moved into the building a week earlier and was planning to open a restaurant. In the meantime, Sutherland had been living in an apartment there, the friend said.
Sutherland had texted a friend that day saying he and his girlfriend had been arguing, and the friend said he was on his way to try to calm things down.
The girlfriend, who was “visibly shaking and crying,” told police that she and Sutherland had been dating for the past two years and had been arguing after Sutherland asked her not to go to a music festival.
She also said he had been venting to her about problems he was having with neighbors who were being racist towards him, and that's when she called her sister. She said he put both hands around her neck and “said, 'I want you to die.'”
She said she ran to a neighbor's house to use a phone and Sutherland came out of the building with a handgun and threatened to shoot her if she returned. When she approached, she continued, Sutherland pointed the gun at her and struck her in the chest with the weapon. She put her hands up and “said, 'Don't shoot me.'”
During a subsequent police interview, the woman said Sutherland warned her, “Two more steps. You have to try.”
She said her friend arrived shortly after and disarmed Sutherland, who was yelling at her that he wanted to kill her. She described the gun to police and told them Sutherland had other firearms in the home.
When police searched the home, they found a gun case containing two handguns on the bed, one of which appeared to have blood on it. Sutherland's hands were covered in blood when police arrived. Officers also found eight other guns and ammunition in the home.
She said Sutherland had been physically and verbally abusive in the past, including smashing the windscreen of her car two days earlier.
Police had arrived at the residence approximately 90 minutes earlier, when the girlfriend called 911 and alleged that Sutherland had choked her and tried to throw her out of the apartment. She refused to give Sutherland's name and repeatedly hung up on 911. When officers spoke with her, she said everything was fine. No arrests had been made as a result of the earlier call.
