The former Bellhop hotel is declared guilty of the battery in the death of Milwaukee man

Madison, Wis. (AP) – A former Milwaukee hotel Bellhop accused of participating in A puppy that killed a man He declared himself guilty on Thursday of a reduced position of aggression for minor crime, said his lawyer.

The prosecutors initially accused Herbert Williamson of being a murder party for serious crime in relation to the death of D’Artaye Mitchell of June 2024 outside the Milwaukee Hyatt.

Williamson’s lawyer, Theodore O’reilly, told Associated Press that prosecutors reduced the charge to the battery in exchange for their guilt declaration and a promise to serve as a witness. O’Reilly said he wasn’t sure if Williamson would be asked to testify against others involved in Mitchell’s death.

Williamson faces up to nine months after bars when he is sentenced on September 3 for the battery count. It could have been sentenced to up to 15 years if it is declared guilty for the murder count.

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

No one immediately returned an email that the AP sent to the Milwaukee County District Prosecutor’s Office for comments.

Three other Hyatt employees, Brandon Turner Security guards and Todd Erickson and reception worker Johnson-Carson were also accused of being a serious crime for murder for serious crime in Mitchell’s death. Turner declared himself guilty to that count last week in an agreement with prosecutors. It could receive probation in exchange for testifying against other men. His sentence hearing is also scheduled for September 3.

Erickson is ready to be judged in August. Johnson-Carson has a guilt hearing scheduled for March 20.

According to judicial documents, the surveillance and the video of spectators show that Mitchell meets Hyatt’s lobby and enters the women’s bath. Later, two women told the researchers that Mitchell tried to lock them in the bathroom.

Turner and a host of a hotel stuck with Mitchell and finally dragged him out of the lobby to the entrance of a hotel. Erickson, Williamson and Johnson-Carson joined Turner to fix Mitchell for eight to nine minutes, according to judicial documents. When emergency responders arrived, Mitchell had stopped moving.

The Milwaukee County Forensic Doctor’s office determined that Mitchell was a morbid obese and suffered from heart disease. He also had cocaine and methamphetamine in his system. The office determined that he suffocated and He ruled the form of death as homicide.

Mitchell’s family lawyers have compared their 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 9 minutes.

Mitchell was black. Judicial records identify Erickson as White and Turner, Williamson and Johnson-Carson as Black.

The four workers told the researchers that Mitchell was strong and tried to bite Erickson, but did not want to harm him intentionally.

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 Bellhop’s last name to Williamson instead of Williams.

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