Charge: Chef Justin Sutherland choked, threatened to shoot girlfriend

Celebrity chef Justin Sutherland is accused of pointing a gun at his girlfriend and threatening to shoot her in St. Paul on Friday, according to a new criminal charge.

Prosecutors in Ramsey County on Monday charged Sutherland, 39, with one felony count of threats of violence in connection with the incident, which happened around 8 p.m. Friday in the 800 block of Front Avenue.

According to the criminal complaint, the initial 911 caller reported he'd seen a man enter the vacant building with a gun and saw a woman, who appeared to be in distress, outside the building with her hands up.

A second 911 caller reported she was on a FaceTime call with her sister, who said her boyfriend was trying to kill her.

The caller told police she heard the man tell her sister: "I wish you were dead right now" before he grabbed the phone and threw it on the ground, the charge alleges.

The woman told police she'd been unable to get back in touch with her sister.

According to the complaint, police arrived at the address and found Sutherland walking outside.

When an officer told Sutherland to turn away and put his hands on his head, Sutherland allegedly screamed: "I called 911 and you trying to [f***ing] arrest me?" and additionally yelled "you should just [f***ing] kill me."

The complaint states: "Sutherland complied with the officer's verbal commands but continued yelling racially derogatory remarks at the officer."

According to the charge, a man who described himself as Sutherland's longtime best friend came out of the building and told police Sutherland and his girlfriend moved into an onsite apartment a week earlier, and Sutherland was planning to turn the property into a restaurant.

The friend told police he was working at a restaurant in Woodbury when Sutherland texted him and said that he and his girlfriend had a fight earlier that day.

The friend said he decided to go to St. Paul to try to help and, while driving there, he received a call from Sutherland, who screamed about how his girlfriend "went to the 'racist neighbor' about him,'" the complaint reads.

The man told police Sutherland said something to the effect of, "If I need to get my guns, I will."

According to the charge, the friend said he told Sutherland not to do anything with his guns and when he arrived at the address he found Sutherland and his girlfriend screaming at each other and trying to fight.

The friend said he separated the two and Sutherland's girlfriend went into the bathroom and Sutherland went outside to take a walk.

The friend told police he saw a closed handgun case on Sutherland's bed, which he thought was unusual, but did not see Sutherland with a gun, per the complaint.

At the scene, the woman – who officers noted was "visibly shaking and crying – told police she'd been dating Sutherland for the last two years and said they argued that evening because Sutherland told her they were no longer going to a music festival.

[She] said Sutherland was upset about the neighbors being racist towards him and believed he took his anger out on her," the complaint reads.

Sutherland grabbed, slammed phone before threats

According to the charge, the woman was explaining the situation to her sister over the phone when Sutherland "walked up to her, placed both hands around her neck, and applied pressure while telling her, 'I want you dead.'"

The woman told police she kicked Sutherland off of her, but Sutherland grabbed her phone and slammed it on the kitchen counter multiple times.

The complaint states she then ran to the neighbor's house to use their phone and Sutherland walked out of the back of the building with a black handgun in his hand and stood in the doorway.

The woman told investigators Sutherland told her, "Don't come back here or I am going to shoot you," the complaint alleges.

The complaint reads: "As she approached him, [the woman] said Sutherland pointed the gun at her then hit her in the chest with the gun. [The woman] stated she was afraid for her life and held her hands up while telling Sutherland, 'Don't shoot me.'"

The woman told police that their friend then arrived and grabbed the gun from Sutherland's hand.

She said she screamed at the friend, "He's trying to kill me", and alleged Sutherland replied: "I want you dead. I don't give a [f***] about you."

Multiple guns found in property

Police spoke to the woman's sister, who told investigators her sister had called her crying and said Sutherland had tried to kill her and put his hands around her neck.

The sister alleged she heard Sutherland say, "I wish I killed you when I had the chance. I wish you were dead right now."

The sister said she called police after Sutherland grabbed the phone and slammed it, after which she could no longer call or text her sister.

According to the complaint, police searched the address and located a gun case on top of the bed with two firearms inside.

Officers allegedly observed what appeared to be blood on one firearm, the Sig Sauer P320 9mm.

"Notably, Sutherland's hands had blood on them when police initially made contact with him," the complaint reads.

While executing the search warrant, police recovered eight additional firearms, ammunition and the woman's broken phone.

According to the complaint, investigators spoke to Sutherland's girlfriend again during a follow-up interview.

She said that during an argument, Sutherland grabbed her neck with both hands and squeezed for approximately five to six seconds.

"While strangling her, Sutherland said, 'I could kill you,'" the complaint alleges.

She recounted how Sutherland broke her phone while she was talking to her sister, prompting her to run to a neighbor's house.

Again, she told police Sutherland was standing in the back doorway with a handgun pointed at her when she returned.

According to the complaint, the woman said Sutherland told her, "Take two more steps. I dare you," and "I'm not kidding. I'll shoot you. This is my property."

During the follow-up interview, the woman told police she knocked the gun from Sutherland's hand, causing it to fall on the kitchen floor, and ran into the bathroom as their friend came into the room.

The woman reported she'd experienced ongoing verbal abuse from Sutherland and claimed he'd broken her car windshield two days prior, alleging he can be violent when angry.

After Sutherland's arrest, the investigator told him he was being held in connection with threats of violence and assault.

Sutherland said that was a lie and requested a lawyer, the charge states.

The Star Tribune on Monday reported a statement from Sutherland's attorney, John Daly, who said the complaint "is riddled with falsehoods. He never physically assaulted anybody, never pointed a gun at anybody and never choked anybody. ... Mr. Sutherland is a nonviolent, warm and energetic member of the community."

Sutherland's arrest comes in the same month he announced plans to open two restaurants in downtown Minneapolis later this year .

Sutherland also announced in June he's working on a new St. Paul restaurant.

Sutherland, a former contestant on the Food Network's Top Chef, gained wide recognition when he helped open the Handsome Hog restaurant in St. Paul in 2016.

It was revealed earlier this year that he no longer has a relationship with the restaurant , which is owned by Madison Restaurant Group.

If you know anyone who is affected by domestic violence, you can find more information on services available here, via the Minnesota DPS. You can also call the Day One Crisis Hotline at 1-866-223-1111.

Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcement’s latest version of events, and may be subject to change.