Court orders trial of 4 Milwaukee men for killing man outside hotel lobby

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Four Milwaukee hotel employees accused of pinning a man to the ground and killing him in June will now face murder charges, a court official ordered Monday.

Hyatt hotel security guards Todd Erickson and Brandon Turner, as well as hotel bellboy Herbert Williamson and front desk clerk Devin Johnson-Carson, are each accused of complicity in the death of D'Vontaye Mitchell.

If convicted, each of them faces up to 15 years and nine months in prison.

Attorneys for Mitchell's family compared his death to the murder of George Floyd, a black man who died in 2020 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for about nine minutes. Mitchell was also black. Court records identify Erickson as white and Turner, Williamson and Johnson-Carson as black.

Rosa Barillas, the Milwaukee County Court Commissioner, summoned all four after a joint preliminary hearing. Court commissioners are lawyers hired by Wisconsin judges to conduct preliminary hearings and other administrative tasks.

The four are expected to submit their confession on Thursday morning.

Johnson-Carson's attorney, Craig Johnson, said he disagreed with the decision to proceed with the case and wanted to deny any connection between Johnson-Carson's actions and Mitchell's death.

“This situation was a tragedy, but not every tragedy has a villain, and not every tragedy is a crime,” the lawyer said in an email to The Associated Press. “Mr. Johnson-Carson responded to a volatile and potentially dangerous situation that could have threatened the safety of hotel staff and guests. His actions were not criminal and did not contribute to Mr. Mitchell's death.”

The Milwaukee County Coroner's Office ruled Mitchell's death a homicide.

Attorneys for Erickson and Turner did not respond to requests for comment. No contact information could immediately be found for Williamson's attorney, who is listed in online court records as Theodore O'Reilly.

Mitchell died on June 30. According to a criminal complaint, surveillance and bystander videos show Mitchell running into the lobby of the downtown hotel and entering a women's restroom that afternoon. Two women later told investigators that Mitchell tried to lock them in the restroom.

Turner and a hotel guest dragged Mitchell out of the building and into the hotel's driveway, the complaint states. Turner, Erickson, Williamson and Johnson-Carson held Mitchell for eight to nine minutes while Mitchell begged them to stop and complained that he couldn't breathe.

Williamson told investigators that he pressed his knee into Mitchell's back. He added that Mitchell was strong, would not calm down and tried to bite Erickson.

Turner told investigators he believed Mitchell was under the influence of drugs, Erickson told them he did nothing to intentionally hurt or kill Mitchell, and Johnson-Carson told them none of the hotel employees believed Mitchell had stopped breathing, the indictment says. Johnson-Carson added that at one point he told Williamson to stop squeezing, and Williamson stopped.

When police and emergency responders arrived, Mitchell was no longer moving, the complaint states.

The Milwaukee County Coroner's Office found that Mitchell was morbidly obese, suffered from heart disease and had cocaine and methamphetamine in his system, according to the lawsuit.

After viewing video of the incident, medical examiner Lauren Decker concluded that Mitchell suffered “asphyxia” because the workers restrained his legs, arms, back and head. Essentially, they prevented Mitchell from breathing.

Aimbridge Hospitality, the company that operates the hotel, laid off the four employees in July.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced Monday that Mitchell's family had reached a confidential settlement with Hyatt. Representatives of Aimbridge Hospitality confirmed the agreement.

“The settlement announced today is the result of good faith discussions with representatives of D'Vontaye Mitchell's family with the goal of providing some comfort to the family in their grief over this tragic loss,” Ambridge Hospitality said in a statement.

Recommended Stories