DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — Opening arguments in the burglary case for a Minnesota state senator Tuesday painted her in two different lights — prosecutors said she was a person intent on stealing while the defense portrayed her as a concerned stepdaughter.
Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury.
Sen. Nicole Mitchell, a Democratic-Farmer-Laborer lawmaker from Woodbury, was charged with two felony burglary counts after she was arrested in her stepmother’s house early in the morning of April 22, 2024. If found guilty, Mitchell could face prison time.
The prosecutor, Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald, opened his argument with a statement attributed to Mitchell as she was arrested in her stepmother’s house: “I know I did something bad.”
“I ask that you specifically remember those words throughout the trial,” McDonald said.
During her arrest, Mitchell made clear confessions, McDonald said. He said evidence in the trial will show the residence Mitchell entered was not her home, that she was not invited and that she pried a window open with a crowbar.
“The defendant entered her stepmother’s home with a purpose — to steal,” McDonald said.
The defense would show evidence of family conflict and terse exchanges between Nicole Mitchell and her stepmother, Carol Mitchell, following the death of Nicole Mitchell’s father.
“But grief and frustration do not justify burglary,” McDonald said.
The defense
Her attorney, Bruce Ringstrom Jr., described her as a concerned stepdaughter who entered the home to check on her stepmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
He started by telling the jury about Nicole Mitchell — how she is a hard worker, how she often felt more comfortable opening up to her stepmother than her biological mother, and how she has balanced jobs with family and serving in the military.
“Our defense is, there is no clear roadmap for helping an aging parent — there can be good days and bad days,” Ringstrom said.
As police were called to the house the morning of her arrest, Nicole Mitchell did not run away, he said. “Nicole Mitchell’s intent is to check on Carol Mitchell. A burglar runs, a concerned child stays,” he said.
Nicole Mitchell’s intent when she entered her stepmother’s house is the real issue in the case, he said, noting the defense does not dispute that she entered the house without consent.
There are two possible reasons for Nicole Mitchell to enter the house, Ringstrom said: to steal or to check on Carol Mitchell. Unless the state’s evidence can rule out that she was there to check on her stepmother, the verdict must be not guilty, Ringstrom argued.
Multiple witnesses
After opening arguments, the jury heard from multiple witnesses in the case: a dispatcher with the Becker County Sheriff’s Department who took Carol Mitchell’s 911 call, a then-Detroit Lakes Police Department patrol officer who called to Carol Mitchell’s house, and Carol Mitchell.
Nicole Mitchell was charged during the 2024 Minnesota legislative session.
Charges against her proved a point of contention in a divided Senate during the last two sessions. DFL leaders barred her from participating in committee assignments or party caucus meetings. Senate Republicans called for her resignation and unsuccessfully tried to oust her from the Senate.
The felony burglary charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail or a county workhouse, and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine. Felony possession of burglary tools carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
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