Twin Cities chef Justin Sutherland accused of assaulting, threatening to shoot girlfriend

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A celebrity chef from the Twin Cities, Justin Sutherland, is accused of assaulting and threatening to shoot his girlfriend last week. 

On Monday, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged 39-year-old Sutherland with one felony count of threats of violence in connection to the incident on Friday. 

Details from the criminal complaint

According to the criminal complaint, officers responded on Friday shortly after 8 p.m. to the 800 block of Front Avenue on the report of a person with a gun outside a building. The caller said the male suspect 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 the boyfriend took the phone away and threw it to the ground. 

When officers arrived, they located Sutherland walking out of the rear of the address. An officer told him to turn away from him and put his hands on his head, to which Sutherland allegedly said “I called 911 and you trying to f****** arrest me?” Though he continued to yell at the officer, he followed the officer’s directions and was taken into custody. 

Another person came out of the building and spoke with police, saying he is a longtime friend of Sutherland. He told police that Sutherland had just recently moved into the building with his girlfriend and that they 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. 

Police then located Sutherland’s girlfriend inside the residence. She told police the argument began when he told her that they were no longer going to a music festival. She said that Sutherland was also upset about the neighbors “being racist towards him” and she believed he was taking out his anger on her, the complaint said. 

The woman said that when she called her sister to explain the situation, Sutherland approached her and 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 at the address, police located a plastic gun case sitting on top of the bed with two handguns inside. Police also recovered eight additional firearms along with ammunition. 

According to the complaint, one of the guns had a blood-like substance on it. Police noted that when they initially made contact with Sutherland, he had blood on his hands. 

The woman’s broken phone was also recovered. 

Police responded earlier that night, but made no arrest

According to the complaint, police were dispatched to the same address earlier that evening after a woman reported her boyfriend choked her and was trying to kick her out of the apartment. While on the phone, the woman refused to provide her boyfriend’s name because she didn’t want anyone to get in trouble.

Officers who responded spoke with the woman, who said she and Sutherland had a disagreement about “something stupid” and that he pushed her in the upper chest at one point. She said she was fine and did not need help from police officers. Sutherland told police that they had a verbal disagreement and did not need the police. 

No arrests were made at that time. 

Sutherland “vehemently denies” the accusations, attorney says

Sutherland made a court appearance Monday morning and was released shortly after on his own recognizance. 

As a condition of his release, Sutherland was ordered to surrender all of his firearms. 

Criminal defense attorney John Daly is representing Sutherland. 

In a statement provided to WCCO, Daly says there are a lot of falsehoods in the complaint and that Sutherland “vehemently denies” the allegations. They will challenge the charges. 

If convicted, the threats of violence charge has a maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. 

Sutherland, an “Iron Chef America” winner and “Top Chef” contestant, recently announced a third location for his Big E sandwich shop will be situated on Washington Avenue in Minneapolis. At the same time, he announced his award-winning restaurant Pearl & the Thief’s new location set for the Mill District in Minneapolis. 

In 2022, he suffered serious injuries to his face and shoulder after getting struck by a propeller while boating on the St. Croix River on the Fourth of July. He underwent several surgeries to repair his jaw and arm.

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For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.