Former Sen. Nicole Mitchell sentenced to 6 months in jail, work release

DETROIT LAKES — Seventh Judicial District Chief Judge Michael Fritz on Tuesday, Sept. 23, sentenced former Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, to a six-month jail sentence with eligibility for work release, meaning she can work outside the jail during the day and sleep there at night.

A jury found Mitchell guilty of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools in July after she broke into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home in April 2024.

Fritz ordered Mitchell to serve her six months sentence in Ramsey County jail. Defendants are typically incarcerated where the conviction occurred — in this case Becker County — but Fritz allowed her to serve her jail sentence in her home county so she can participate in work release. Minnesota requires convicted felons to serve two-thirds of their sentences incarcerated, so Mitchell will be in jail for at least four months.

Mitchell, who resigned from the Minnesota Senate shortly after her trial, was also sentenced to five years of probation.

The Woodbury Democrat was found guilty of felony burglary and possession of burglary tools in July after a five-day trial in Detroit Lakes. The prosecution successfully argued that Mitchell intended to steal her late father’s possessions from her stepmother when she broke into her Detroit Lakes home on April 22, 2024. The state’s main evidence was that she told police as much during her arrest, and the jury saw the footage of her admissions from police officers’ body-worn cameras.

Mitchell testified during her trial, and on Tuesday during her sentencing hearing she told Fritz prior to her sentencing that she “deserved” to be there.

“I broke into her home. I was selfish. I was worried about my own feelings and a possible confrontation … and I did something ridiculous and illegal and selfish,” Mitchell said.

Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald read aloud a written statement from Carol Mitchell — Nicole Mitchell’s stepmother — during the sentencing hearing.

Carol Mitchell said she still does not feel safe after the break-in and can never trust her stepdaughter again.

“The fear that Nicole created when she broke into my house has not left me,” Carol Mitchell wrote.

Nicole Mitchell is appealing her conviction.

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