Former state Sen. Nicole Mitchell, convicted of felony burglary in July, was sentenced Tuesday to six months in jail, to be served with work-release privileges in Ramsey County as long as she qualifies.
If she does not, Becker County District Chief Judge Michael Fritz ordered the remainder of her jail sentence to be served in Detroit Lakes’ Becker County Jail.
Fritz also sentenced Mitchell to 21 months in prison, but he stayed that order for five years while she is under supervised probation.
Mitchell was convicted of first-degree felony burglary and possession of burglary tools July 19 after she was arrested in her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home around 4:45 a.m. on April 22, 2024.
She resigned her state Senate seat a week after her conviction. DFL candidate Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger will face off against Republican Dwight Dorau in a Nov. 4 special election for Mitchell’s former seat in Minnesota Senate District 47, which includes Woodbury and part of Maplewood.
According to court documents, Mitchell told police at her arrest scene that she had entered the residence to check on her stepmother, who has Alzheimer’s Disease.
Prosecutors, however, said she broke into her stepmother’s home to take sentimental items belonging to her recently deceased father that her stepmother refused to give her.
In a seven-minute presentencing statement recorded and posted to YouTube Tuesday by KARE 11 News, Mitchell told Judge Fritz:
“I deserve to be here today. I think the harm I caused are real things, and I completely abide by whatever you feel is fair.
“It is wrong to hurt anybody, but especially, in my opinion, someone you love. And I can go through a list of horrible decisions that I made. But these are two that stick with me: The first – even if I had been in and out (of her stepmother’s residence), I broke into her home.
“I was selfish. I was worried about my own feelings and a possible confrontation or hearing something that might hurt me. I did something that was ridiculous, illegal and selfish. The second thing is that once I was in there and she woke up and banged into me and started to yell at me, I thought I was a coward. … And I decided that whatever she would’ve yelled at me would’ve been 100 percent right.
“I was only thinking of myself, and that contributed to what I believe was paranoia – which I absolutely believe is true. Maybe she’ll forgive me someday, but I don’t think I probably deserve it
“I still love her; my kids still love her; and if she ever wants a relationship again, I’m open. But I absolutely messed up, and I deserve this. I will work on being a better person and try to use this time on how I can possibly repair this. I am very sorry.”
Prosecutors had asked Judge Fritz to sentence Mitchell to six months in jail or a work house in Becker County.
Defense attorneys has asked that Mitchell’s felony convictions be reduced to misdemeanors and that her sentence be put on hold so she could pursue other legal options.
The first-degree felony burglary charge Mitchell was convicted of carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine. The maximum penalty for felony possession of burglary tools is three years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.
