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CBS News
18-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Jurors reach verdict in Sen. Nicole Mitchell's burglary trial
Jurors have reached a verdict in the trial for a Democratic Minnesota state senator accused of burglarizing her stepmother's Detroit Lakes home. The jury began deliberating on the fourth day of testimony regarding the charges against Sen. Nicole Mitchell of Woodbury and delivered a verdict after about three hours. It has not yet been read in court. She was charged with felony first-degree burglary and possession of burglary or theft tools after the alleged break-in on April 22, 2024. In his closing argument, Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald asked the jury to trust what they heard from Nicole Mitchell in body camera footage. "What the defendant said in those tense moments after being detained by the police is the truth, period," McDonald said. "She said she was there to take items, and that readily proves her intent to commit a theft." In the defense's closing, attorney Bruce Ringstrom Jr. reiterated Nicole Mitchell's assertion she broke into her stepmother's home for a welfare check, which could be called "poor judgment" but is not tantamount to burglary. "The state needs you to believe that Nicole Mitchell would … throw away her career, that she would throw away her family and she would throw away her ability to be a foster parent for a shirt she knew that she was going to get," Ringstrom said. Nicole Mitchell pleaded not guilty, and during the trial, her defense contended she was at the home to check on her stepmother, Carol Mitchell, who lives with Alzheimer's. The embattled senator spent more than five hours on the witness stand during the trial, testifying about her relationship with her stepmother, the alleged rift that occurred over her father's death and lack of will and Carol Mitchell's Alzheimer's diagnosis. "I always remember Carol being in my life, and as a mother figure," Nicole Mitchell said. Carol Mitchell also took the stand, telling jurors she and her stepdaughter were not particularly close and saying she felt "extremely violated" after finding Nicole Mitchell in her home. Jurors also saw body camera footage of the police response to Carol Mitchell's 911 call about the alleged burglary, during which Nicole Mitchell told one officer, "I know I did something bad." Nicole Mitchell has survived multiple expulsion attempts by her Republican Senate colleagues, but the body's DFL Caucus did remove her from committee assignments and caucus meetings days after her arrest.
CBS News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
State Sen. Nicole Mitchell takes the stand in her burglary trial
State Sen. Nicole Mitchell, who is accused of burglarizing her stepmother's Detroit Lakes home, has taken the stand on the third day of testimony. Nicole Mitchell pleaded not guilty to felony first-degree burglary and possession of burglary theft or tools. She said she was at the home on April 22, 2024 to retrieve some of her late father's items, as well as check on her stepmother, who she said has Alzheimer's. Her defense team did not dispute that Nicole Mitchell entered the home without consent, but her intent was to check on her stepmother. "A burglar runs — a concerned child stays," said defense attorney Bruce Ringstrom Jr. during opening statements Tuesday. Nicole Mitchell's stepmother Carol Mitchell testified on the first day of the trial, saying she felt "extremely violated" when her home was broken into. When the defense team asked her if Nicole Mitchell cared about her well-being, Carol Mitchell said "I don't believe so," adding that "Nicole never let me get close to her." The prosecution also showed police body camera video of Nicole Mitchell's arrest. Video shows Nicole Mitchell dressed in all black, and after Carol Mitchell accuses her of stealing documents, Nicole Mitchell says "no one stole anything here." As an officer leads Nicole Mitchell into his squad car, she tells him that her stepmother "progressively cut off the family" due to paranoia caused by Alzheimer's. In the video, Nicole Mitchell tells the officer that she got into the house through the basement window and "just wanted to get a couple of [her] dad's mementos." Nicole Mitchell was first elected in 2022, and represents parts of Maplewood and Woodbury. She survived multiple attempts from her Republican Senate colleagues to expel her from the chamber, but the DFL Caucus removed her from committee assignments and caucus meetings after she was arrested. WCCO will offer special, extended coverage of Mitchell's trial online and on CBS News Minnesota.
