4 people charged in death of man outside Milwaukee hotel

Four people have been charged with felony murder for the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell in Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office announced the charges Tuesday afternoon. The decision came after the medical examiner released findings last week calling the death a homicide.

Mitchell died June 30 after hotel employees pulled him from the Hyatt Regency in downtown Milwaukee and held him down on the sidewalk. Video circulated on social media drew comparisons to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The Medical Examiner determined Mitchell was killed by restraint asphyxia and the toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine.

His family has been pushing for criminal prosecutions in the case.

“They’re charging them with the obvious,” DeAsia Harmon, Mitchell’s widow, said at a press conference Tuesday night. “We all seen the videos, we’ve all heard the audio, there was nothing stopping them from charging these people from day one.”

Harmon said she was “grateful” that the charges were filed, but she wished they would have been filed sooner.

“They should have done it a long time ago,” she said.

“I just want everyone to be held accountable for what they did to him,” she added.

A statement from the district attorney’s office said the charging decision was based on evidence collected by the Milwaukee Police Department, the autopsy and information from the community.

The four men charged are all residents of Milwaukee or South Milwaukee and include Todd Erickson, 60, Devin Johnson-Carson, 23, Brandon Turner, 35, and Herbert Williamson, 53.

According to the criminal complaint, video from the hotel shows Mitchell run into the hotel lobby “in a frantic manner” before running into a women’s bathroom, which was occupied by at least two women. One of the women later told police Mitchell appeared to try to lock the door.

Turner got Mitchell out of the bathroom, but the two struggled. Other employees then began to help drag Mitchell out of the hotel. One employee hit Mitchell with a broom, according to the complaint. Turner, Johnson-Carson and Erickson all either punched or kicked Mitchell once he was outside.

Throughout the incident captured on video, Mitchell’s “behavior is erratic and confusing, and he engages in continuous physical resistance against the men,” the complaint states. “But (Mitchell) does not instigate any violence or display any obviously aggressive or threatening behavior while on the hotel premises.”

The video showed Mitchell on the ground outside the hotel holding up his arm to shield blows, according to the complaint. After the four men flipped him face down on the ground, they held him in that position for eight to nine minutes, the complaint states.

“Towards the end of that time period, (Mitchell) has stopped showing movement or resistance or other signs of life,” the complaint states.

The DA’s office said arrest warrants have been issued Tuesday for the four men.

But William Sulton, the attorney for the family, said he wasn’t satisfied with the charges — he wanted to see a reckless homicide charge. Even so, he said he’s confident the guards will be convicted.

“At least today we can say that the obvious has happened — murder charges filed against murderers on camera,” Sulton said.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is also representing the family. In a statement, he said the charges were a “significant step towards justice.”

“The charges filed today are an important step, but they are just the beginning,” the statement said. “D’Vontaye’s life mattered, and his story will not be forgotten.”

Felony murder is a lesser charge than first degree intentional homicide. It is charged when someone causes a person’s death while committing or attempting to commit another crime. It carries a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

Editor’s note: WPR’s Evan Casey contributed reporting.