Stepmother of Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell reported that she ‘tripped over’ person next to her bed
When the stepmother of Democratic Minnesota state Sen. Nicole Mitchell reported a home break-in around 4:45 a.m. Monday, she said she was armed with "a little steak knife" after finding an intruder next to her bed, according to a 911 call transcript obtained by Fox News Digital Thursday.
Mitchell’s stepmother told a dispatcher the intruder ran downstairs to the basement of her home in the 700 block of Granger Road in Detroit Lakes, and she didn’t know if the person was "breaking out the back window."
Mitchell was found and arrested at the home after police arrived and allegedly found her wearing all black with a flashlight covered with a black sock nearby. She was charged with first-degree burglary.
When the dispatcher asked if the caller got a good look at the intruder, she responded: "No, it was completely dark. I tripped over 'em. Ah, he was on the floor next to my bed. He ran downstairs into my basement."
Democratic state Sen. Nicole Mitchell, 47, was charged with first-degree burglary Tuesday. (Becker County Jail)
The caller also told the dispatcher she had grabbed "a little steak knife." Throughout the call, she only referred to the intruder as "he" and never suggested she knew who had entered her home.
Mitchell denied the burglary allegation in a Facebook post Tuesday, claiming she went to check on "a loved one" with Alzheimer's after learning of medical information which caused her "grave concern."
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According to the 911 call transcript, the dispatcher asked the caller if she could hear anyone breaking out the window in the basement.
"I'm not hearing anything right now," she responded. "Maybe the window is already open down there. There's a basement — a drop window that can crank open. I don't know."
According to a criminal complaint, responding officers found that a black backpack belonging to Mitchell was propping open a basement window. Inside the backpack, officers found a laptop belonging to the stepmother, who told officers that she never gave it to Mitchell.
Mitchell was elected to represent Minnesota's Senate District 47 in 2022. (Minnesota State Senate)
Mitchell acknowledged she entered through a window and told investigators she was trying to get her late father's ashes, photos, a flannel shirt and other items of sentimental value, the criminal complaint said. Mitchell claimed her stepmother had stopped speaking to her after her father’s death and refused to give her the items.
"I know I did something bad," Mitchell is quoted as saying in the complaint.
Mitchell is accused of breaking into her stepmother's home and stealing a laptop. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
In Mitchell’s Facebook post, the state senator said she entered the home but did not explain why she apparently entered through a window in the dark early morning hours.
"Unfortunately, I startled this close relative, exacerbating paranoia, and I was accused of stealing, which I absolutely deny," Mitchell wrote.
Mitchell, of Woodbury, has represented District 47 since she was elected to the state Senate in 2022. She was previously a meteorologist for KSTP-TV and Minnesota Public Radio and serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard.
