Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, testifies at her burglary trial. Photo: Pool via The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead
A new sentencing date was set last week for former State Senator Nicole Mitchell, who was convicted of burglary in July and resigned her legislative seat soon after.
Mitchell, who represented Woodbury and parts of Maplewood in Minnesota’s Senate District 47, had asked for a delay at her scheduled sentencing on Sept. 10.
She said her attorney, Dane Dekray, had “an illness that precludes him from adequately preparing” for that hearing.
Prosecutors urged Becker County Circuit Court Chief Judge Michael Fritz to retain last week’s sentencing date, but he sided with Mitchell to allow her to be represented by the attorney of her choice.
Fritz then rescheduled Mitchell’s sentencing for 9 a.m. September 23, also in Fritz’s court.
The nature of DeKray’s illness was not disclosed.
Mitchell was convicted of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools after she was arrested in her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home early on April 22, 2024.
In an Aug. 26 special DFL primary election for Mitchell’s Senate seat, Amanda Hemmingson-Jaeger defeated Ethan Cha.
Hemmingson-Jaeger will face off against Republican Dwight Dorau in the Nov. 4 general election.