Weeklong burglary trial for Minnesota Sen. Nicole Mitchell begins

The first day of a felony burglary trial for a Minnesota senator was dominated by jury selection Monday in Becker County District Court Sen Nicole Mitchell is accused of burglarizing her stepmother s house in Detroit Lakes in April According to court documents when Mitchell was arrested she reported police officers she was retrieving items that belonged to her late father Mitchell was charged with two felony burglary counts first-degree burglary and possession of burglary or theft tools She pleaded not guilty to the charges If revealed guilty Mitchell could face prison time In a Facebook post in the days after her arrest Mitchell commented her family was watching a loved one decline due to Alzheimer s and associated paranoia The post went on to say she went to check on that family member After she entered the house Mitchell startled the relative and was accused of stealing she wrote an accusation she denied As Mitchell s attorney Bruce Ringstrom Jr questioned the pool of prospective jurors he questioned about their affinity to grabbing a gun if somebody broke into their house and experiences with break-ins and unexpected people showing up at their houses He polled them on experience with Alzheimer s dementia and memory loss and how jurors would feel seeing a witness with memory loss being questioned Ringstrom touched on Mitchell s status as a state lawmaker asking prospective jurors whether lawmakers should be held to a higher standard than the average person Questions mostly steered clear of politics but touched on how prospective jurors handle political disagreements and the fact that particular may see the outcome of the trial as a political message As the prosecutor Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald took the podium he sought if jurors had been involved in disagreements over inheritance or family property He also inquired follow-up questions to several of Ringstrom s inquiries related to their experiences with crimes such as break-ins and burglaries Following jury questioning attorneys whittled the group of prospective jurors questioned down to a group of Mitchell a Democratic-Farmer-Laborer lawmaker from Woodbury was charged during the Minnesota legislative session She was arrested in her stepmother s house on April Nicole Mitchell Courtesy of the Becker County Sheriff's Office According to an amended complaint filed Feb around a m April Detroit Lakes police officers were dispatched to the home of Mitchell s stepmother for a assessment of a break-in There officers revealed Mitchell in a basement bathroom dressed in black clothing The complaint stated Mitchell claimed she was trying to retrieve a couple of her father s things Mitchell s father died in without a will according to court documents His surviving spouse Nicole Mitchell s stepmother was awarded of his estate On Feb McDonald added the possession of burglary tools charge focusing on items revealed at the house Court documents say Mitchell was carrying a flashlight covered by a black sock and that her stepmother revealed a crowbar in an egress window well Mitchell denied that the crowbar belonged to her Charges against Mitchell were a point of contention in a divided Senate during the last two legislative sessions DFL leaders barred Mitchell 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 trial has been pushed back multiple times It was scheduled for January but was rescheduled to allow Mitchell to participate in the legislative session Related Articles Hulu series names new suspect in Jodi Huisentruit event Wisconsin woman injured in black bear attack Man accused of sending threats to federal North Dakota functionaries pleads not guilty After nearly years a retiring local fire chief shares tips and tales In current times we get justice sister of chef fatally shot at St Paul funeral reception says in court The trial was then scheduled to begin June but was pushed back again in the aftermath of the assassination of Minnesota Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband and the attempted assassination of Sen John Hoffman and his wife This week the trial is scheduled to continue through Friday 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 years in prison and a fine