DETROIT LAKES — Opening arguments in the burglary case for a Minnesota state senator paint her in two different lights: one as a person who intended to steal and one as a concerned stepdaughter.
Attorneys for the state of Minnesota and Sen. Nicole Mitchell outlined their positions in opening arguments for the trial Tuesday morning, July 15. Later, the first witnesses took the stand.
Mitchell, a Democratic-Farmer-Laborer lawmaker from Woodbury, was charged with two felony burglary counts after she was arrested in her stepmother’s house early in the morning of April 22, 2024.
She was charged with first-degree burglary and possession of burglary or theft tools. If found guilty, Mitchell could face prison time.
The air conditioning in the courthouse was out in the morning, so proceedings began in a hot, muggy courtroom. The air conditioning kicked back on before jurors were called in, and the room slowly cooled throughout the morning.
The prosecutor, Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald, opened his argument with a statement attributed to Mitchell as she was arrested in her stepmother’s house: “I know I did something bad.”
“I ask that you specifically remember those words throughout the trial,” McDonald said.
During her arrest, Mitchell made clear confessions, McDonald said. He claimed evidence in the trial would show the residence Mitchell entered was not her home, that she was not invited and that she pried a window open with a crowbar.
“The defendant entered her stepmother’s home with a purpose — to steal,” McDonald said.
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The defense would show evidence of family conflict and terse exchanges between Nicole Mitchell and her stepmother, Carol Mitchell, following the death of Nicole Mitchell’s father.
“But grief and frustration do not justify burglary,” McDonald said.
He asked the jury to find Nicole Mitchell guilty on both counts.
Her attorney, Bruce Ringstrom Jr., described her as a concerned stepdaughter who entered the home to check on her stepmother, who has Alzheimer’s.
He started by telling the jury about Nicole Mitchell — how she is a hard worker, how she often felt more comfortable opening up to her stepmother than her biological mother, and how she has balanced jobs with family and serving in the military.
“Our defense is, there is no clear roadmap for helping an aging parent — there can be good days and bad days,” Ringstrom said.
As police were called to the house the morning of her arrest, Nicole Mitchell did not run away, Ringstrom said. “Nicole Mitchell’s intent is to check on Carol Mitchell. A burglar runs, a concerned child stays,” he said.
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Nicole Mitchell’s intent when she entered her stepmother’s house is the real issue in the case, he said, noting the defense does not dispute that she entered the house without consent.
There are two possible reasons for Nicole Mitchell to enter the house, Ringstrom said: to steal or to check on Carol Mitchell. Unless the state’s evidence can rule out that she was there to check on her stepmother, the verdict must be not guilty, Ringstrom argued.
Witnesses testify
After opening arguments, the jury heard from multiple witnesses in the case throughout the morning and afternoon.
The first witnesses called to the stand were Becker County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Dispatcher Joseph Robbins and Detroit Lakes Investigator Joseph Sternhagen. McDonald played audio of the 911 call from Carol Mitchell and the bodycam footage of Nicole Mitchell’s arrest. At the time of the break-in, Sternhagen was a patrol officer at the Detroit Lakes Police Department.
During the 911 call, Carol Mitchell could be heard telling Robbins that somebody had broken into her house. She sounded panicked as she said, “He was on the floor next to my bed.” She said she stepped on the person.
In body camera footage shown as Sternhagen testified, Sternhagen entered Carol Mitchell’s house, finding another officer, gun drawn, on the stairs leading to the basement. Sternhagen pushes past him, entering the basement. After looking around under the stairs, he turns to find an open door, with Nicole Mitchell dressed in all black, with a black stocking cap.
In the video, Sternhagen orders Nicole Mitchell to the ground. Face down, Nicole Mitchell calls out to Carol Mitchell.
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“Carol, it’s Nicole. I was just trying to get a couple of my dad’s things because you wouldn’t talk to me anymore,” Nicole Mitchell said.
As the video continues, Carol Mitchell accuses Nicole Mitchell of stealing documents, which Nicole Mitchell denies. At one point, Nicole Mitchell mentions her late father.
“My dad died last year, she’s paranoid — well, now she’s really paranoid,” Nicole Mitchell said of Carol Mitchell.
The video shows Mitchell being walked up the stairs, outside and to a squad car.
“I know, I did something bad,” Mitchell said in the car.
In the video, Mitchell continued to speak with Sternhagen about the family tension and Carol Mitchell’s growing paranoia. Nicole Mitchell said she wanted to grab some mementos, including pictures and a flannel shirt. Nicole Mitchell said a dispute over her father’s ashes brought her to the point of breaking into Carol Mitchell’s house.
The video ends with the search of a backpack found lodged in a small window in Carol Mitchell’s basement, Nicole Mitchell being driven to the police station and some questioning of Nicole Mitchell at the police station. Included in the backpack were two laptop computers.
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Carol Mitchell was next to take the witness stand. McDonald asked Carol Mitchell about her relationship with her late husband and Nicole Mitchell’s father, Rod Mitchell. He also asked about her relationship with Nicole Mitchell.
At times, Carol Mitchell could not remember details, like specific dates, the names of Nicole Mitchell’s sons or the details of the days after her husband’s death. She looked to the audience in the courtroom as she tried to remember who she appointed as her power of attorney.
Carol Mitchell’s account of the break-in differed from earlier testimony and body camera footage. She said she thought the person who broke into her house was a teenage boy, and later found out through a call with the police that the person was Nicole Mitchell, her stepdaughter.
Body camera footage showed Carol Mitchell and Nicole Mitchell interacting as police arrested Nicole Mitchell.
Carol Mitchell claimed a blue prybar found in an egress window at her home later that morning was not the same one she found. She said she remembered a larger, lavender-colored prybar.
Carol Mitchell said she did not believe that her stepdaughter had concern for her well-being, health and safety.
“Nicole never let me get close to her,” Carol Mitchell said.
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The testimony of Becker County Sheriff’s Deputy Ethan Wothe took up much of the afternoon. Wothe was a Detroit Lakes police officer when Nicole Mitchell was arrested. Wothe was the first to arrive at Carol Mitchell’s house on April 22.
Body camera footage played during Wothe’s testimony gave another viewpoint of Mitchell’s arrest. While Sternhagen detains Nicole Mitchell in the basement of the house, Wothe’s footage shows Carol Mitchell coming downstairs to the basement.
Wothe was the officer to locate the black backpack stuck in the small basement window. He was unable to pull the backpack through the window from inside the house. Another officer went to retrieve the backpack from outside the house.
Wothe stays with Carol Mitchell for much of the rest of the video, as she returns to the upstairs, then goes down to the basement again. Carol Mitchell details concerns about Nicole Mitchell and Nicole Mitchell’s aunts trying to steal documents from her. Carol Mitchell said she was missing two laptops.
Wothe was called back to Carol Mitchell’s house later in the morning of April 22 after Carol Mitchell discovered the blue crowbar. Body camera footage of the response was also played during Wothe’s testimony.
McDonald also played body camera footage from a brief interview Wothe conducted with Nicole Mitchell about laptops found in the backpack. In the video, one of the laptops displayed Carol Mitchell’s name when opened, while the other displayed Nicole Mitchell’s name.
Nicole Mitchell told Wothe that Carol Mitchell had given her one of the laptops.
“If she said she was already missing two, there’s no way I took them tonight,” Nicole Mitchell said in the video.
In the afternoon, multiple other law enforcement officers testified, including someone who worked as a Becker County Jail correctional officer at the time of Nicole Mitchell’s arrest, and a Becker County Sheriff K9 officer who responded to the burglary call.
Throughout the testimony, Ringstrom asked witnesses whether they found or saw items mentioned by Nicole Mitchell, like the flannel shirt and ashes. None of the witnesses Tuesday had found or seen the items as they interacted with Nicole Mitchell.
Nicole Mitchell was charged during the 2024 Minnesota legislative session. Charges against her were a point of contention in a divided Senate during the last two legislative sessions. DFL leaders barred her from participating in committee assignments or party caucus meetings. Senate Republicans called for her resignation and unsuccessfully tried to oust her from the Senate.
The felony burglary charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail or a county workhouse, and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine. Felony possession of burglary tools carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
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