Jury begins deliberation in Sen. Nicole Mitchell burglary trial

DETROIT LAKES Minn The jury has begun deliberations in the trial of a Minnesota senator accused of burglarizing her stepmother s home following closing arguments in the development The Becker County jury must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Sen Nicole Mitchell entered her stepmother s house with the intent to commit a crime Sen Nicole Mitchell DFL-Woodbury Courtesy of the Becker County Sheriff's Office Mitchell a DFL lawmaker from Woodbury was charged with two felony burglary counts after she was arrested in her stepmother s house in the early hours of April She was charged with first-degree burglary and possession of burglary or theft tools If uncovered guilty Mitchell could face prison time She has pleaded not guilty to the charges Prosecution s closing arguments State prosecutor Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald petitioned the jury to find Mitchell guilty on both counts again citing words Mitchell commented when she was arrested I know I did something bad Or rather the defendant knew she did something bad but now she wants to lie about it McDonald reported McDonald called out a dispute between Mitchell and her stepmother Carol Mitchell about her father Rod Mitchell s ashes as the line in the sand for their relationship At that point it became Nicole Mitchell s mission to take back her father s possessions McDonald disclosed She packed tools to help her in that mission like an all-black outfit prybar and flashlight covered by a black sock Not even her own moral compass could deter her from her mission McDonald declared He demanded the jury to use common sense and good judgment when looking at the evidence presented by the state items Nicole Mitchell carried with her alleges she made to law enforcement and her testimony that she lied to law enforcement The defense Mitchell s attorney Bruce Ringstrom Jr has argued Mitchell broke into the home to check on her stepmother who has Alzheimer s syndrome Ringstrom on Friday requested the jury to recall times when they may have notified white lies Nicole Mitchell advised a white lie that she was there to take her father s things as she was arrested in an attempt to keep her stepmother calm he stated She s not charged with lying Ringstrom stated Ringstrom talked about viable sources of reasonable doubt he sees in the state s contends that Mitchell intended to steal like lapses in Carol Mitchell s memory because of Alzheimer s and the fact that Nicole Mitchell did not have any of her stepmother s possessions when she was arrested in the house Ringstrom brought up law enforcement s mishandling of evidence saying police did not keep a backpack Nicole Mitchell brought with her or a note she had with her the night she was arrested Unless the state can rule out that Nicole Mitchell entered just to check on Carol then the verdict must be not guilty Ringstrom declared Testimony this week In more than three days of testimony law enforcement officers recounted Nicole Mitchell s arrest including comments she made about entering to retrieve a couple of her father s things Family members testified about Carol Mitchell s fear of Nicole Mitchell especially surrounding finances Others advised jurors they observed increasing paranoia and behavioral changes related to Carol Mitchell s Alzheimer s identification Carol Mitchell s own testimony was marked by memory lapses and inconsistencies with other testimony and law enforcement body camera footage shown as evidence Nicole Mitchell testified for nearly five hours Thursday talking about her concern about her stepmother as she experienced an Alzheimer s-related mental decline and intentions to check on her She walked the room through the events of the morning she was arrested Two more onlookers On Friday morning the defense called its last two observers before resting its incident The first was Cindy Markey one of Nicole Mitchell s aunts She talked about Carol Mitchell s relationship with the Mitchell side of the family She was required how Rod Mitchell her brother Carol Mitchell s husband and Nicole Mitchell s father would have felt about Nicole Mitchell current into the house He would not be happy about it but he would also not be happy if we all gave up on Carol and didn t check on her Markey noted The defense also called in Jay Brody who Nicole Mitchell supervised in the Wisconsin National Guard He talked about conversations he had with Nicole Mitchell during which she expressed concern for her stepmother He announced Nicole Mitchell is a trustworthy and selfless person The felony burglary charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of at least six months in jail or a county workhouse and a maximum sentence of years in prison and a fine Felony possession of burglary tools carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine Related Articles MPR says rescission bill will dismantle the residents media system as we know it Through tears Sen Nicole Mitchell testifies in her burglary trial Minnesota 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