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D’Vontaye Mitchell Update: Everything We Know as Murder Charges Referred

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The Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) recently referred four felony murder charges to the district attorney’s office in the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell, a 43-year-old Black man who was pinned to the ground late last month by hotel workers outside a Hyatt Regency, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Thursday.

Here’s everything we know about the murder charges:

Mitchell’s Death on June 30

A witness video shows Mitchell being held facedown on his stomach by four hotel employees on June 30. He is heard shouting “Please!” while pinned down. Mitchell was unresponsive by the time police officers arrived at the scene.

Police said Mitchell entered the hotel and caused a “disturbance” and fought with the hotel guards that were escorting him outside, according to the Associated Press.

Newsweek has reached out to the MPD for additional information via email on Saturday morning.

On Thursday, civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy at Mitchell’s funeral at Milwaukee’s Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God in Christ.

“This wasn’t a mistake at the job. This was taking somebody’s life, and there is no justice until you pay for the life you’ve taken. We’re not asking for an apology. We’re asking for justice,” Sharpton said in his speech.

In a X, formerly Twitter, post on Thursday, he added that Mitchell was killed “during a mental health episode.”

D'Vontaye Mitchell — From left: D’Vontaye Mitchell is seen with his sister Nayish Mitchell and cousin Samantha Mitchell. The Milwaukee Police Department recently referred four felony murder charges to the district attorney’s office in the death of D’Vontaye…
From left: D’Vontaye Mitchell is seen with his sister Nayish Mitchell and cousin Samantha Mitchell. The Milwaukee Police Department recently referred four felony murder charges to the district attorney’s office in the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell, a 43-year-old Black man who was pinned to the ground late last month by hotel workers outside a Hyatt Regency, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Thursday.

Samantha Mitchell via AP

Hotel Response

Aimbridge Hospitality, which operates a Milwaukee Hyatt Regency hotel, has fired several employees in relation to Mitchell’s death.

“Following review of their actions, their employment has been terminated. We will continue our independent investigation and do everything we can to support law enforcement with their investigation into this tragic incident,” the management agency told the AP in an email.

On Friday, Herbert Williamson, a now fired bellhop, told local station Fox6 News that his manager pulled him into the situation.

Williamson told the station that a security guard told him to “‘Get back on him, get back on him, so I got back on him, but I didn’t want to—but I was in fear I was going to lose my job.”

Aimbridge Hospitality placed Williamson on paid leave on July 1 and fired him on July 10 for workplace violence. The names of the other fired employees have not been released.

Felony Charges Referred

On July 5, the MPD referred felony murder charges against the four workers implicated in Mitchell’s death to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office. Police also referred an “underlying charge of battery” against the four workers.

Milwaukee County Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern told Wisconsin Public Radio in an email that their office is still reviewing the case and that he doesn’t “expect a charging decision for several weeks.”

MPD Sergeant Efrain Cornejo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the district attorney’s office has not yet decided on whether to file the charges.

There have been no arrests in the case and none of the people are in custody.

Newsweek reached out to the Milwaukee district attorney’s office via email on Saturday morning.

Mitchell’s family is being represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who previously represented the families of other Black individuals who were wrongfully killed and sparked mass protest movements, including Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor.

“The circumstances surrounding Dvontaye’s death outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel are disturbing and as described by a witness, reminiscent of the killing of George Floyd,” Crump told NPR in an email.

Newsweek left a voice message for Crump’s office on Saturday morning.

In May 2020, Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was killed in Minneapolis after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes. His death sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests and put police under scrutiny of malpractice and systemic racism. Chauvin was later found guilty of murder.