All 4 Milwaukee hotel workers charged with murder in Black man’s death now in custody
MILWAUKEE — The last of four hotel workers charged in connection with The Death of D’Vontaye Mitchell was arrested Friday, more than five weeks after he and the others allegedly jumped on the black man as they tried to remove him from a Milwaukee hotel.
Herbert Williamson was arrested three days after he and his three co-defendants were charged with aiding and abetting Mitchell’s June 30 murder at a Hyatt Regency hotel, Milwaukee County jail records show.
Williamson, a bellhop at the hotel, and the three others were accused after prosecutors reviewed video footage showing them stepping on top of Mitchell as they tried to remove him from the hotel lobby before he died.
Williamson, 52, was charged along with hotel security guard Todd Erickson, 60; front desk clerk Devin Johnson-Carson, 23; and security guard Brandon Turner, 35. If convicted, they each face up to 15 years and nine months in prison.
Aimbridge Hospitality, the company that manages the hotel, previously said it had fired several employees involved in Mitchell’s death.
According to online court records, Williamson, Turner and Johnson-Carson are black, while Erickson is white.
Mitchell’s family’s lawyers have compared his death to the murder of George Floyda black man who died in 2020 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck for about nine minutes.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is part of a team of attorneys representing Mitchell’s family, said video footage recorded by a bystander and circulating on social media showed security guards pressing their knees into Mitchell’s back and neck.
According to a criminal complaint, Mitchell ran into the hotel on June 30 and entered a women’s restroom. An employee dragged him outside and held him, along with three others, on his stomach for eight or nine minutes as Mitchell gasped for air.
The county coroner determined that Mitchell died of “asphyxiation by restraint” and noted that he might have lived if staff had allowed him to turn onto his side, the criminal complaint said.
A autopsy The indictment alleges that Mitchell was obese and had used cocaine and methamphetamine.
Erickson was held on $50,000 cash bail and Turner on $30,000 cash bail after both made their initial court appearances this week, records show. They have preliminary hearings scheduled for Aug. 19. Johnson-Carson had an initial hearing scheduled for Friday. The records did not list the date of Williamson’s initial hearing.
All four remained in custody as of Friday morning, according to jail records.
Attorneys for Erickson and Turner did not immediately respond to messages Friday seeking comment. Court records did not list attorneys for Williamson or Johnson-Carson.