Four employees working at a Hyatt Hotel in Milwaukee are facing felony murder after pinning a man down to the floor as he repeatedly pleaded for help.
Arrest warrants were issued for the hotel security guard Todd Erickson, front desk worker Devin Johnson-Carson, bellhop Herbert Williamson and security guard Brandon Turner.
Surveillance footage from June 30 shows D'Vontaye Mitchell, a Black man, desperately running into the lobby's hotel and then into a gift shop before entering the women's restroom.
Turner, who was off duty at the time, pulls Mitchell into the lobby by his shirt, and the two begin to scuffle when Turner punches him six times, knocking him to the floor.
JUST IN: Prosecutors charged four men with felony murder in the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell, ruled a homicide due to “restraint asphyxia and toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine”
— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) August 6, 2024
Police said that D’Vontaye Mitchell caused a disturbance and was pinned down by four hotel… pic.twitter.com/VMysLJvg81
Mitchell can be seen on video as he's dragged and held down on his stomach for eight or nine minutes before police and emergency responders arrived, according to the Associated Press. One employee told investigators that Mitchell was struggling to breathe and was repeatedly pleading for help. Turner told a detective that he heard women screaming in the bathroom after Mitchell entered, leading him to believe the victim was on drugs. Johnson-Carson told investigators that Mitchell was not in a "stable sort of mind," and he was speaking "gibberish." He admitted that Mitchell said "stop," "why" and "something about breathing" during the assault and told Williamson to stop applying pressure, which he allegedly did. Johnson-Carson said that Mitchell displayed "clear signs of extreme distress, including gags, distressed breathing, and repeated pleas for help," according to the criminal complaint. It went on to state, "All of these factors - the gasping, the actions and words of DM, the distress that he was in - show that all four defendants were aware that holding DM face first on the ground was 'practically certain' to cause impairment of his physical condition." An autopsy found that Mitchell was morbidly obese and had cocaine and methamphetamine in his system. The county medical examiner ultimately determined Mitchell died of "restraint asphyxia" and could have lived had the employees allowed him to turn onto his side. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, one of the lawyers representing Mitchell's family, revealed that a video recorded by a bystander and circulating on social media shows security guards with their knees on Mitchell's back and neck. Crump posted a statement on X on Tuesday evening, calling the charges "a significant step towards justice for the family of D'Vontaye Mitchell!"
Four Hyatt employees involved in the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell have been charged — a significant step towards justice for the family of D'Vontaye Mitchell! https://t.co/UD5DHKsC91
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 7, 2024
DeAsia Harmon, Mitchell's widow, commented that the decision to charge the employees was a relief but questioned why it took weeks.
"These people are on camera taking my husband's life," she said.
"They should have been charged the moment they did that."
The company that manages the hotel, Aimbridge Hospitality, announced that several employees involved in Mitchell's death have been fired.
Mitchell's mother, Brenda Giles, created a GoFundMe to assist with the immediate needs of his children and family.
Giles described her son as a caring and loving soul who was a devoted father and cherished husband.
