U.S.
By Emily Mae Czachor
/ CBS News
Two men were in custody Thursday for their alleged roles in the death of D'Vontaye Mitchell, a Black man who died outside a Milwaukee hotel after being pinned down by staff in an incident recorded in surveillance footage and cellphone video.
Devin Johnson-Carson, 23 and Todd Erickson, 60, are being held at the Milwaukee County Jail and had initial court appearances on Thursday, jail records show. Johnson-Carson and Erickson face felony murder charges in connection with Mitchell's death. Each of them faces an additional charge for being a party to felony murder. Authorities said Johnson-Carson worked at the front desk and Erickson was the security manager on duty on June 30th at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Milwaukee during the afternoon of the altercation.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office announced charges earlier this week against four men, including off-duty security guard Brandon Turner, 35, and bellhop Herbert Williamson, 52. Prosecutors said warrants were out for their arrests. A felony murder conviction carries a maximum sentence of 15 years and nine months in prison in Wisconsin, according to a criminal complaint against the defendants.
Mitchell died from "restraint asphyxia and toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine," the county medical examiner ruled in a report released last week. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office said earlier this month that the 43-year-old's death was being investigated as a homicide.
His family's attorney Benjamin Crump said his mother believes Mitchell was suffering from a mental health episode when he entered the women's bathroom at the hotel. The criminal complaint said, citing surveillance footage and cellphone video, that Turner initially removed Mitchell from the bathroom and escorted him out into the main lobby of the hotel, where a struggle between them led Turner to punch Mitchell and eventually drag him to the driveway outside.
Turner told Milwaukee Police that he stopped by the hotel that day to visit other staff members, even though he was not on duty, and he intervened after seeing Mitchell approach the women's bathroom. Turner said in a statement to police that he could hear two women screaming inside. In separate witness statements, those women told police that Mitchell had entered the bathroom frantically, seemingly to run from the security guard, and appeared to be trying to lock the bathroom door to keep the guard out. One of the witnesses said in her statement that the officer entered the bathroom and told Mitchell to leave. She said that she was "unsure if the young security officer had to grab [Mitchell] or not," according to the criminal complaint.
Mitchell was beaten, kicked and tackled by Turner along with Johnson-Carson, Erickson and Williamson, all of whom showed up in the driveway, according to the complaint. Each took part in turning Mitchell onto his stomach and forcibly restraining him, holding him to the ground for between eight and nine minutes until police and emergency responders arrived. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The criminal complaint describes Mitchell's behavior throughout the violent encounter as "erratic and confusing" and one of "continuous physical resistance" against the staff members subduing him. For some time toward the end of his restraint, the complaint says, he became unresponsive and was no longer moving. The complaint also explicitly says that Mitchell did "not instigate any violence or display any obviously aggressive or threatening behavior" on the premises of the hotel.
Johnson-Carson, Erickson, Turner and Williamson were fired from their positions at the Hyatt Regency, said Aimbridge Hospitality, which operates the hotel and employs its staff. Both Hyatt and Aimbridge Hospitality said they supported Mitchell's family in statements released after his death.
"Hyatt continues to support the family of D'Vontaye Mitchell in their pursuit of justice following the filing of criminal charges," a Hyatt spokesperson said once the district attorney announced the murder charges.
"Our hearts are with Mr. Mitchell's family and loved ones as this case moves forward," a spokesperson for Aimbridge Hospitality said in another statement. "We have cooperated fully with law enforcement in their investigation into this tragic incident and will continue to cooperate with the district attorney."
Matt Last, an attorney representing Turner, told CBS News that his legal team was "actively working on clearing the warrant" for Turner's arrest. He would not confirm whether Turner planned to turn himself in.
"We are disappointed in the District Attorney's decision to charge Mr. Turner with Felony Murder. In the weeks to come we will be working to prove Mr. Turner is innocent in this matter," Last said in a statement.
Mitchell's death caused national outcry and protests demanding accountability on the parts of those involved, with many drawing comparisons to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, which was also captured on video. Crump, who also leads the Floyd family's legal team, spoke about the two Black men's deaths in a statement responding to the charges against the Hyatt employees.
"Today marks a significant step towards justice for the family of D'Vontaye Mitchell. The evidence, including security footage and witness statements, paints a disturbing picture of a man in distress who was met with excessive and lethal force," Crump said. "The fact that D'Vontaye was held face down on the pavement for eight to nine minutes –– just like George Floyd –– is a sobering reminder of the urgent need for accountability and justice."
- In:
- Milwaukee
- Wisconsin
