A sentencing date is now set for State Sen. Nicole Mitchell, who was convicted last week on two felony burglary charges for breaking into her estranged stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home.
Becker County Judge Michael D. Fritz will decide Mitchell’s punishment on Sept. 10.
Police arrested Mitchell, a Woodbury Democrat, the morning of April 22, 2024, after her stepmother, Carol, discovered her crawling on the floor of her bedroom. Mitchell, dressed in all black and with a flashlight in her waistband, told officers she was at the house to retrieve some of her late father’s belongings.
At trial, though, Mitchell’s defense team tried to convince the jury she entered the home to check on her stepmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
Jurors deliberated for three hours on Friday and returned a guilty verdict on counts of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools.
Mitchell faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the first-degree burglary conviction, but given her lack of prior criminal history, she is likely to receive a far lighter sentence.
On Monday, Mitchell announced her intent to resign from the Senate by Aug. 4.
Source link
