Former Milwaukee hotel workers accused of holding man to death plead not guilty

MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) – Three of four former hotel employees in Milwaukee are accused of kill a man by nailing him pleaded not guilty to the murder charge on Thursday.

Former Hyatt hotel employees – security guards Todd Erickson and Brandon Turner, bellhop Herbert Williamson and front desk clerk Devin Johnson-Carson – were each charged with aiding and abetting murder earlier this month in connection with the death of D'Vontaye Mitchell.

Online court records show that Erickson, Williamson and Johnson-Carson pleaded not guilty during arraignments Thursday morning in Milwaukee. Turner was also expected to enter a plea, but records showed no indication he had done so by late morning.

Attorneys for Erickson, Turner and Johnson-Carson did not immediately respond to emails and voicemail messages seeking comment on the confessions. No contact information could be found for Williamson's attorney, Theodore O'Reilly.

Mitchell died on June 30. According to court documents, surveillance cameras and videos from bystanders show Mitchell running into the Hyatt lobby and entering the women's restroom. Two women later told investigators that Mitchell tried to lock them in the restroom.

Turner and a hotel guest wrestled with Mitchell and eventually dragged him out of the lobby and into the hotel driveway. According to court documents, Erickson, Williamson and Johnson-Carson, along with Turner, held Mitchell down for eight to nine minutes. By the time emergency responders arrived, Mitchell had stopped moving.

The Milwaukee County Coroner's Office determined that Mitchell was morbidly obese and suffered from heart disease. He also had cocaine and methamphetamine in his system. The office determined that he had been asphyxiated and The cause of death was determined to be manslaughter.

Attorneys for Mitchell’s family compared his death to the murder of George Floyda black man who died in 2020 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for about nine minutes. Mitchell was also black. Court records identify Erickson as white and Turner, Williamson and Johnson-Carson as black.

The four workers told investigators that Mitchell was strong and tried to bite Erickson, but they did not intentionally mean to harm him.

Aimbridge Hospitality, the company that operates the hotel, laid off the four employees in July.