MILWAUKEE — A settlement has been reached with Hyatt in the D’Vontaye Mitchell case, according to civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Mitchell's family in the case.
Crump said both parties were pleased they could resolve the settlement outside court.
“In recent weeks, we entered good faith conversations with the goal of helping to achieve resolution for the family of D’Vontaye Mitchell. We are pleased to share that we have reached an amicable settlement. The terms of an agreement will be confidential. The parties are pleased that they were able to resolve this matter outside of court and will have no further comment about the settlement,” Crump said in a statement.
The terms of the agreement were not released.
According to a criminal complaint, four hotel employees dragged Mitchell out of the Hyatt Hotel on June 30 after Mitchell entered a women’s bathroom and held him on his stomach for eight or nine minutes.
Those four employees must now stand trial for murder charges, a court official ordered on Monday. Those charged in Mitchell's death include 60-year-old security guard Todd Alan Erickson of Milwaukee, 23-year-old front desk worker Devin Johnson-Carson of South Milwaukee, 35-year-old security guard Brandon LaDaniel Turner of Milwaukee and 52-year-old bellhop Herbert Williamson of Milwaukee.
The settlement with the Hyatt does not dismiss the cases against the four individuals.
Each face one count of being a party to felony murder in Mitchell's death and could face up to 15 years and nine months in prison if they're convicted. Johnson-Carson was released from Milwaukee County Jail last week Monday after posting his bail.
Mitchell’s family’s attorneys 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 nine minutes. Mitchell also was Black. Court records identify Erickson as white and Turner, Williamson and Johnson-Carson as Black.
Milwaukee County Court Commissioner Rosa Barillas bound all four of them over for trial following a joint preliminary hearing. Court commissioners are lawyers hired by judges in Wisconsin to conduct pretrial hearings and other administrative tasks.
The four are scheduled to enter pleas on Thursday morning.
Johnson-Carson's attorney, Craig Johnson said, he disagrees with the decision to move the case forward and he plans to dispute any connection between Johnson-Carson's actions and Mitchell's death.
“This situation was a tragedy, but not every tragedy has a villain, and not every tragedy is a crime,” the attorney said in an email to The Associated Press. "Mr. Johnson-Carson was was responding to a volatile and potentially dangerous situation that could have threatened the safety of hotel staff and guests. His actions were not criminal, and did not contribute to the death of Mr. Mitchell.”
Erickson and Turner's attorneys didn't return messages seeking comment. No contact information could immediately be found for Williamson's attorney, listed in online court records as Theodore O'Reilly.