Ex-MN State Senator Sentenced To Jail, Must Avoid Stepmother Under Court Order

DETROIT LAKES, MN — Former Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell was sentenced Tuesday to jail time and probation after being convicted this summer of felony first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools.

A county judge ordered Mitchell to serve 180 days in the Becker County Jail, with credit for two days already served.

She may transfer her confinement to Ramsey County Jail at her own expense, where she would be eligible for work release.

She must report to jail by Oct. 1 at 6 p.m., or the day she receives her first paycheck, but no later than Oct. 8.

The court also handed down a 21-month prison sentence but stayed it for five years, meaning Mitchell will not serve that time if she successfully completes probation.

She will remain on supervised probation for the next five years, under the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

Conditions of her probation include obeying all laws, cooperating with her probation officer, and avoiding any contact with her stepmother, Carol Mitchell, who was the victim in the case. She is also prohibited from trespassing at her stepmother’s residence.

Mitchell was also fined $1,085.

The sentencing comes more than a year after Mitchell was arrested on April 22, 2024, when officers found her hiding in her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home.

She was dressed in black and carrying a modified flashlight. Police later recovered a bag in a window well containing laptops, a cell phone, her Minnesota Senate badge, and other items.

According to the criminal complaint, Mitchell told officers she was trying to retrieve sentimental belongings from her late father. “I know I did something bad,” she reportedly said.

A Becker County jury found her guilty on both counts in July 2025, prompting state DFL Party Chair Richard Carlbom to immediately call for her resignation.

Mitchell, 50, represented District 47, which includes parts of Maplewood and Woodbury, and had served in the Senate since 2023.