Former Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell was sentenced on Tuesday to six months in jail for burglarizing her stepmother’s home.
Mitchell was convicted last month for breaking into the home to retrieve some of her deceased father’s belongings. Police arrested her at the scene after her stepmother contacted the authorities.
From The New York Times:
A former Minnesota state senator was sentenced on Tuesday to six months in jail for a pre-dawn break-in at her stepmother’s home last year.
The former senator, Nicole Mitchell, 50, stepped down from her seat representing the suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul in July after she was convicted of burglary and possession of burglary or theft tools, both felonies.
Her resignation briefly imperiled the Democrats’ single-seat majority in the State Senate. On the day she said she would be stepping down, Senate officials announced that a Republican member had died, keeping the balance of power unchanged.
Republicans had unsuccessfully sought to have Ms. Mitchell, who represented a solidly blue district, expelled.
Facing a judge in Becker County District Court, Ms. Mitchell apologized for her actions on the night of April 22, 2024, when her stepmother, Carol Mitchell, reported being awakened by an intruder in her home in Detroit Lakes, Minn., about 200 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
The intruder was her stepdaughter, who had been dressed in black and had covered a flashlight with a sock.
During Mitchell’s trial, bodycam footage showing the arrest was released and circulated on social media. Police can be seen ordering Mitchell to the ground. As she was being arrested, Mitchell told her stepmother, “I was just trying to get a couple of my dad’s things because you wouldn’t talk to me anymore.”
While being held in a police vehicle, Mitchell can be heard saying, “I know I did a bad thing.”
Her defense attorney argued during the trial that the former lawmaker was concerned about her stepmother’s health. She suffers from Alzheimer’s.
A jury convicted Mitchell of felony burglary and possession of burglary tools. Even though she claimed she was conducting a “welfare check,” bodycam footage showed her admittingt ot he crime. “Clearly, I’m not good at this,” she told officers.
It appears Mitchell’s status as a former lawmaker may have gotten her a lenient sentence. Those who commit similar crimes can typically face up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $35,000. For first offenders, the presumptive sentence is typically 21 months. Instead, she got the mandatory minimum of six months. It must be nice to benefit from a two-tiered justice system.