ST PAUL, Minn. — The St. Paul Police Department is asking for the public’s help in finding a “non-verbal autistic” teenager, according to a brief news release from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Ke-Andre Oliver-Butler was last seen around 5 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Forest St. and 4th Ave. E. in St. Paul’s Dayton Bluff neighborhood.

Oliver-Butler is 5′ 8″ and weighs 110 lbs. When he went missing, he was wearing a faded jean jacket, blue jeans with gold writing and black shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to call 651-291-1111.

The BCA released no further details.

RICHMOND, Va. — Editor’s note: The video above first aired on KARE 11 in May 2024.

Relatives of a City Council candidate in Richmond, Virginia, are casting doubt on his claim that he is a cousin of George Floyd, the Black man whose 2020 death in police custody reignited the national Black Lives Matter movement.

Tavares Floyd wants to represent the 6th District in Virginia’s capital city of more than 200,000 people. His campaign website states: “After the death of my cousin, George Floyd, I was fully reinvigorated to bring us all together in a major way.”

Tavares Floyd also identified himself as George Floyd’s cousin in June 2020, just days after Floyd died in Minneapolis when he spoke at a large demonstration in Richmond.

“My cousin perished and he died pleading for his mother, and he died at the hands of police officers,” Floyd told the crowd. “That’s what it means to be a Black man in this country.”

In an article published Tuesday, Tavares Floyd’s sister told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that her brother’s claim is a “big lie.”

“It’s not true,” Ashley Floyd told the newspaper. She said that “when a man with the same last name was murdered, Tavares saw an opportunity.”

“It’s disgusting actually, and distasteful to prey on someone’s pain,” Ashley Floyd added.

Vincent Floyd, Tavares Floyd’s half-brother, told the Times-Dispatch that he was “not aware” of any connection between his family and George Floyd.

In an email to the Times-Dispatch, Tavares Floyd defended his claims that he is related to George Floyd.

“My aunts have a direct connection to the family,” he said. “They are who called me to tell me he had been killed.”

“We attended the family funeral,” he told the newspaper. “I have pictures from the service.”

Tavares Floyd provided photos to the newspaper showing him at a memorial event for George Floyd in Raeford, North Carolina.

“The last name Floyd is uncommon for African Americans,” he told the Times-Dispatch. “Anytime you meet a Floyd, we always get excited because we know we are related … but you wouldn’t know that.”

Flora Taylor, who identified herself as one of Tavares Floyd’s aunts, told the newspaper that she did not know whether the family is related to George Floyd.

But she said if they were, she had never met him. She also said she did not call Tavares Floyd to discuss George Floyd’s death.

Tavares Floyd did not immediately respond to an email to his campaign website from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The Floyd Family Center for Social Equity, a nonprofit started by George Floyd’s family members in North Carolina, did not immediately respond to an email from the AP seeking comment.

ST PAUL, Minn. — Court documents show celebrity chef Justin Sutherland has pleaded guilty to charges alleging he pulled a gun and threatened to shoot his girlfriend last June. 

Sutherland signed a document in Ramsey County pleading guilty to one count of threats of violence – reckless disregard in the incident, which took place the evening of June 28. A criminal complaint issued against Sutherland says St. Paul police responded to an apartment building and were told by a woman who claimed to be Sutherland’s girlfriend that he pointed a gun at her and then hit her in the chest with it, allegedly saying “don’t come back here or I am going to shoot you.”

Other allegations included in the complaint include:

• Sutherland and the victim began arguing because they were no longer going to a music festival; Sutherland was upset by racist neighbors and was taking out his frustration on the victim.
• The victim said Sutherland put his hands around her neck and said “I want you dead.”
• The victim said when she ran from the house, Sutherland told her, “Don’t come back here or I am going to shoot you.” After he hit her with the gun, she put up her hands and said, “Don’t shoot me.”
• The victim said when Sutherland’s friend arrived, he was able to get the gun away from him.
• In a follow-up interview, the victim told police Sutherland strangled her, broke her phone and threatened to kill her more than once.
• When police arrived to arrest Sutherland, he screamed “You should just f****** kill me,” before surrendering while yelling racially derogatory remarks at the officer. 

Documents say that by pleading guilty, the chef and reality television star will receive a 360-day suspended sentence, which he will have to serve should Sutherland violate the terms of the agreement. He will also serve two years probation, perform 100 hours of community service, undergo a chemical dependency evaluation, and not possess firearms, among other stipulations. 

Justin Sutherland, a St. Paul native, competed on Season 16 of “Top Chef” and won Iron Chef America, where he went head-to-head with Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli. He has also served as co-host of TruTV’s “Fast Foodies” with Kristen Kish and Jeremy Ford, started Big E on Grand Ave. and is chef at Northern Soul at MSP Airport. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and needs help, call 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788 to be connected with someone from the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline includes more options for support and identifiers of abuse on its website. 

For Minnesota residents, Cornerstone MN offers resources and safe housing for domestic abuse survivors and crime victims. Call 1-866-223-1111 or chat online with the crisis hotline.