Celebrity chef Justin Sutherland received two years of probation on Friday after pleading guilty to charges that he pointed a gun at his girlfriend and hit her with it last summer in St. Paul.
Sutherland was originally charged with a felony count of threats of violence. But the conviction will go down as a gross misdemeanor because his sentence fits within the bounds of that criminal offense, according to court records.
Sutherland, who was behind such St. Paul restaurants as the Handsome Hog and Big E, has made appearances on “Top Chef.” He won the “Iron Chef America” show and received an Emmy for his web series “Taste the Culture.”
Ramsey County District Judge Andrew Gordon stayed the 360-day sentence in favor of two years of probation during which Sutherland must abstain from alcohol and drugs, receive counseling for domestic abuse and anger management, and avoid firearms.
Sutherland pleaded guilty to the charge in October. Days after doing so, he was arrested by St. Paul police and charged with a gross misdemeanor for violating a domestic abuse no-contact order.
He pleaded guilty to that charge in October as well, and that conviction was included in Friday’s sentencing.
In October, Sutherland told the Star Tribune he was “fully prepared” to go to trial and “absolutely” did not assault the woman. But in a statement he read in court Friday and provided to the Star Tribune, he apologized to the woman and said an “alcohol-fueled argument escalated into something that I deeply regret.”
Sutherland said alcohol and addiction had “overtaken” his life at the time. He said he has since completed an inpatient treatment program and anger management courses, and has sought therapy.
