Twin Cities chef Justin Sutherland sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to threatening girlfriend
MINNEAPOLIS — Celebrity chef Justin Sutherland has been sentenced to two years of probation for a charge stemming from a fight with his girlfriend this summer and violating a domestic abuse no-contact order.
Ramsey County Judge Andrew Gordon sentenced Sutherland Friday to two years of probation, 60 days of house arrest, domestic abuse counseling, anger management and over $2,000 in fines, according to court records. As part of the sentence, Sutherland must also abstain from alcohol and drugs.
Gordon stayed a 300-day prison sentence in favor of the probation and house arrest.
Sutherland was originally charged with, and pled guilty to, one felony count of threats of violence from the June 28 incident, but court records list the charge as a gross misdemeanor because the imposed sentence aligns with gross misdemeanor limits.
In October, two days after pleading guilty to the threats of violence charge, Sutherland was arrested inside a St. Paul Spirit Halloween store and charged with violating a no-contact order. He pled guilty to that charge in October, and the conviction was included in the sentencing Friday.
According to the criminal complaint from the June incident, St. Paul police officers were called to the 800 block of Front Avenue on the report of a person with a gun outside a building. The caller said the man had the gun in his hand and a female individual "appeared to be in distress." A second caller said she was on a video call with her sister who said her boyfriend was trying to kill her, and that he took the phone away and threw it to the ground.
Responding officers found Sutherland exiting from the back of the residence. An officer instructed him to put his hands on his head, to which Sutherland allegedly said, "I called 911 and you trying to f****** arrest me?" He continued to yell as he was taken into custody.
Someone who claimed to be a longtime friend of Sutherland told police that Sutherland and his girlfriend have had "issues when they fight," the complaint said. He said he went to the address because they were fighting and had to "physically get in the middle of them and push them apart." He denied seeing Sutherland with a gun.
Sutherland's girlfriend allegedly told officers that the argument began when he told her they were no longer going to a music festival. Charges say she added he was also upset about the neighbors "being racist towards him" and she believed he was taking out his anger on her.
She had called her sister to explain the situation when she said Sutherland choked her for several seconds before slamming her phone on the kitchen counter multiple times, according to the complaint. She said Sutherland later grabbed a gun, pointed it at her, threatened to shoot her and hit her in the chest with the gun.
While executing a search warrant, police located a plastic gun case sitting on top of the bed with two handguns inside. Police also found eight additional firearms, ammunition and the woman's broken phone. According to the complaint, one of the guns had a blood-like substance on it.
Police had been called to the same address earlier that same evening after a woman reported her boyfriend choked her and was trying to kick her out of the apartment.
She said she was fine and did not need help from police. Sutherland told authorities that they had a verbal disagreement and did not need the officers.
Sutherland entered a 30-day treatment program shortly after the incident.
For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.
