Crime
Court orders 4 Milwaukee men to stand trial for killing man outside hotel lobby
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Four Milwaukee hotel employees accused of killing a man in June by pinning him to the bottom must stand trial on a murder charge, a court official ordered Monday.
Hyatt hotel security guards Todd Erickson and Brandon Turner, in addition to baggage handler Herbert Williamson and front desk clerk Devin Johnson-Carson, are charged with accessory after the very fact to murder in reference to the crime. (*4*)Death of D’Vontaye Mitchell.
If convicted, each faces up to 15 years and nine months in prison.
Mitchell’s family’s attorneys compared his death to murder George Floyda 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 documents discover Erickson as white, and Turner, Williamson and Johnson-Carson as black.
Milwaukee County District Court Commissioner Rosa Barillas committed all 4 to trial after a joint preliminary hearing. Court commissioners are attorneys hired by Wisconsin judges to conduct pretrial hearings and other administrative duties.
All 4 are scheduled to give statements on Thursday morning.
Johnson-Carson’s attorney, Craig Johnson, said he disagreed with the choice to proceed the case and intends to dispute 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 attorney said in an email to The Associated Press. “Mr. Johnson-Carson was responding to a volatile and potentially dangerous situation that could have endangered the safety of hotel staff and guests. His actions were not a crime and did not contribute to Mr. Mitchell’s death.”
Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office (*4*)ruled Mitchell’s death a homicide.
Attorneys for Erickson and Turner didn’t respond to messages searching for comment. Contact information for Williamson’s attorney, listed in online court documents as Theodore O’Reilly, couldn’t immediately be found.
Mitchell died on June 30. According to the criminal grievance, surveillance and bystander footage shows Mitchell running into the lobby of a downtown hotel that afternoon and entering a women’s restroom. Two women later told investigators that Mitchell tried to lock them in the lavatory.
Turner and a hotel guest dragged Mitchell out of the constructing and onto the hotel driveway, the grievance said. Turner, Erickson, Williamson and Johnson-Carson pinned Mitchell down for eight to nine minutes, while Mitchell begged them to stop and complained he couldn’t breathe.
Williamson told investigators he put his knee on Mitchell’s back, adding that Mitchell was forceful, couldn’t calm down and tried to bite Erickson.
Turner told investigators he thought Mitchell was on drugs, Erickson told them he did nothing to intentionally hurt or kill Mitchell, and Johnson-Carson told them not one of the hotel employees thought Mitchell had stopped respiratory, according to the grievance. Johnson-Carson added that at one point he told Williamson to stop pushing, and Williamson stopped.
When police and emergency services arrived, Mitchell was still motionless, the grievance said.
According to the grievance, the Milwaukee County Coroner’s Office determined that Mitchell suffered from morbid obesity and heart disease, and had cocaine and methamphetamine in his system.
After reviewing video of the incident, Assistant Medical Examiner Lauren Decker determined that Mitchell suffered “restraint asphyxiation” due to the employees holding his legs, arms, back and head, essentially stopping Mitchell from respiratory.
Aimbridge Hospitality, the corporate that manages the hotel, laid off 4 employees in July.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced Monday that Mitchell’s family had reached a confidential settlement with Hyatt. Aimbridge Hospitality officials confirmed the agreement.
“The settlement announced today is the result of honest discussions with representatives of D’Vontaye Mitchell’s family to provide the family with comfort in their grieving this tragic loss,” Ambridge Hospitality said in a press release.