The four men who confessed to playing roles in the 2024 death of D’Vontaye Mitchell outside Milwaukee’s Hyatt Regency hotel will learn their punishments Sept 3.
Separate sentencing hearings have been scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Devin W. Johnson-Carson, Brandon LaDaniel Turner, Herbert T. Williamson and Todd Erickson.
Each were initially charged with felony murder in connection with Mitchell’s June 30, 2024, death, which followed a confrontation he had with the men at the downtown hotel after entering a women’s restroom.
The legal sands shifted in the weeks and months after they were formally charged and days of demonstrations protesting his death faded out. The men jockeyed to make plea deals with prosecutors; two pleaded guilty to felony murder, while the other two pleaded to misdemeanors in the case. It will be up to Circuit Court Judge David Swanson to mete out the sentences.
Nearly a dozen letters were sent to the court at the end of August, pleading for the judge to show mercy for Erickson, who was the last person to reach a deal with prosecutors.
Prosecutors say Mitchell was pinned on the floor for about nine minutes as the men, who all worked for The Hyatt, delivered blows to him while he was down.
A medical examiner determined Mitchell’s body showed evidence of “restraint asphyxia,” a condition that develops when a person’s body position prevents them from breathing.
“These charges are based on an extensive review of the evidence collected by the Milwaukee Police Department, the autopsy conducted and the report produced by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, and information received from members of the community,” then-District Attorney John Chisholm said in a statement at the time.
The incident drew immediate comparisons to George Floyd, a Minneapolis Black man who was held down by Minneapolis police until he died in 2020. It also sparked several protests in the days before Milwaukee hosted the Republican National Convention.
The case attracted the attention of civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump.
He, along with Milwaukee lawyers Will Sulton and B’Ivory Lamarr, negotiated a settlement for an undisclosed amount between Mitchell’s family and Ambridge Hospitality, the Texas-based third-party operator that manages Milwaukee’s Hyatt.
Johnson-Carson, Turner, Williamson and Erickson were fired by the company shortly after they were charged.
“My husband D’Vontaye Mitchell was stolen from our family,” Mitchell’s widow, DeAsia Harmon, wrote in a letter to the judge that was made public Aug. 19. “We never got a chance to say goodbye, we never got to hug him, kiss him and tell how we loved him.”
The men charged in D’Vontaye Mitchell’s death all secured deals with prosecutors
A Hyatt security guard at the time of Mitchell’s death, Turner, 35, of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty to felony murder in March.
At that time, prosecutors agreed to recommend probation for Turner in exchange for his testimony against any remaining defendants at trial.
Also in March, Williamson, 53, of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery, a charge punishable by up to nine months in jail, plus a $10,000 fine. He worked at the Hyatt as a bell driver door attendant.
Johnson-Carson, 24, pleaded guilty that same month to misdemeanor battery in exchange for his cooperation and testimony. Prosecutors are recommending Johnson-Carson be given probation.
Support pours in for Todd Erickson, the last man to plead guilty in the case
Erickson wasn’t quick to broker a deal with prosecutors. He was the only one to request a trial, but later agreed on July 31 to plead guilty to felony murder as a party to a crime.
In Wisconsin, felony murder carries a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison.
Court records show prosecutors haven’t made a sentencing recommendation for Erickson.
Many of the letters that were sent to the court in recent weeks were penned by family and friends. They described the 60-year-old as an active member of his Catholic church and the Italian Community Center, who has a love of animals and a penchant for helping anyone in a jam.
Jason Hildreth, Erickson’s younger brother, described Erickson as a “strong role model” who taught him how to make better decisions in life, despite having drifted apart earlier in their lives.
Hildreth said in his letter to Swanson, dated Aug. 22, things changed when their mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The event brought the brothers closer together, fulfilling a wish she had to see them reconcile before she died.
Hildreth urged the judge to consider probation for his brother, who he said was remorseful and is not a threat to society.
“I think Todd has demonstrated a high level of integrity and accountability by taking the path that will not prolong this case and so that Mr. Mitchell’s family can finally have closure,” he wrote.
D’Vontaye Mitchell’s widow still wrestles with grief
In her letter, Harmon said all four men need to be held accountable in Mitchell’s death and that she is still traumatized by memory of receiving the call informing her that her husband was gone.
Her children, she wrote, sometimes scream out because they miss their father.
“Who knew that when D’Vontaye came to see the children that would be the last time he would be the last time?”
Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 4 men accused in D’Vontaye Mitchell’s 2024 death outside Hyatt Hotel set to be sentenced
Reporting by Chris Ramirez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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