Former hotel bellhop pleads guilty to battery in Milwaukee man’s death

MADISON, Wis. — A former Milwaukee hotel bellhop accused of taking part in a dogpile that killed a man pleaded guilty Thursday to a reduced charge of misdemeanor battery, his attorney said.

Prosecutors initially charged Herbert Williamson with being a party to felony murder in connection with the June 2024 death of D’Vontaye Mitchell outside the Milwaukee Hyatt.

Williamson’s attorney, Theodore O’Reilly, told The Associated Press that prosecutors reduced the charge to battery in exchange for his guilty plea and a promise to serve as a witness. O’Reilly said he wasn’t sure whether Williamson would be asked to testify against others implicated in Mitchell’s death.

Williamson faces up to nine months behind bars when he’s sentenced Sept. 3 on the battery count. He could have been sentenced to up to 15 years if convicted on the murder count.

“It’s a good outcome for Mr. Williamson,” O’Reilly said.

No one immediately returned an email the AP sent to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office seeking comment.

Three other former Hyatt employees — security guards Brandon Turner and Todd Erickson and front desk worker Devin Johnson-Carson — also were charged with being a party to felony murder in Mitchell’s death. Turner pleaded guilty to that count last week in a deal with prosecutors. He could receive probation in exchange for testifying against the other men. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3 as well.

Erickson is set to stand trial in August. Johnson-Carson has a plea hearing set for March 20.

According to court documents, surveillance and bystander video shows Mitchell running into the Hyatt’s lobby and entering the women’s bathroom. Two women later told investigators that Mitchell tried to lock them in the bathroom.

Turner and a hotel guest scuffled with Mitchell and eventually dragged him out of the lobby onto a hotel driveway. Erickson, Williamson and Johnson-Carson joined Turner in pinning Mitchell down for eight to nine minutes, according to court documents. By the time emergency responders arrived Mitchell had stopped moving.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’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 he suffocated and ruled the manner of death as homicide.

Attorneys for Mitchell’s family have likened his death to the murder of George Floyd, a Black man who died in 2020 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for about 9 minutes.

Mitchell was Black. Court records identify Erickson as white and Turner, Williamson and Johnson-Carson as Black.

The four workers told investigators Mitchell was strong and tried to bite Erickson but they didn’t mean to intentionally harm him.

Aimbridge Hospitality, the company that manages the hotel, fired the four workers in July.

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This story has been updated to correct the bellhop’s last name to Williamson instead of Williams.