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D’Vontaye Mitchell’s family reaches settlement with Milwaukee hotel while employees, including Todd Erickson, face murder charges

MILWAUKEE– The family of D’Vontaye Mitchell, who died June 30 after being pushed down by four hotel employees outside a Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee, reached a settlement with the hotel on Monday after the employees whose actions were seen on surveillance video were charged in his death.

Family attorneys Ben Crump, Will Sulton and B’Ivory Lamarr said in a joint statement Monday that the Mitchell family’s legal team has entered into “good faith discussions” with Hyatt “with the goal of helping to achieve a resolution for the family of D’Vontaye Mitchell.”

“We are pleased to announce that we have reached an amicable settlement,” they added. “The terms of any agreement will be kept confidential. The parties are pleased to have been able to resolve this matter out of court and will have no further comment on the settlement.”

A spokesperson for Aimbridge Hospitality – the hotel management company that manages the Hyatt in Milwaukee – confirmed the agreement to ABC News in a statement on Monday.

“The settlement announced today is the result of good faith discussions with representatives of D’Vontaye Mitchell’s family and is intended to provide some comfort to the family in their grief over this tragic loss,” the statement said.

The settlement announcement came after a Milwaukee court official on Monday rejected motions to dismiss premeditated murder charges brought against four hotel employees in connection with Mitchell’s death.

Attorneys for the four hotel employees – security guard Todd Alan Erickson, receptionist Devin W. Johnson-Carson, bellman Herbert T. Williamson and security guard Brandon Ladaniel Turner, who was off-duty during the incident – argued during a preliminary hearing Monday that there was insufficient probable cause to support premeditated murder and requested that the charges be dismissed.

Rosa Barillas, court commissioner of the Milwaukee County Court, ordered that the four men be tried. She said: “I will find that the state has fulfilled its duty and that there is reasonable cause to believe that Messrs. Erickson, Carson, Turner and Williamson committed a crime. They will all now be presented to the district court for trial.”

Craig Johnson, an attorney representing Johnson-Carson, told ABC News in a statement Monday that he and his client “respectfully disagree with the finding of probable cause.”

“This situation was a tragedy, but not every tragedy has a villain, and not every tragedy is a crime,” Johnson added. “In this case, we expect to deny the connection between any action by Mr. Johnson-Carson and the death of Mr. Mitchell. Mr. Johnson-Carson responded to an explosive 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 Mr. Mitchell’s death.”

Meanwhile, attorney Matt Last, who represents Turner, said in a statement to ABC News on Monday that they were “disappointed” that the charges against his client were not dropped.

“We contend that the testimony given at trial does not support such a finding,” Last said. “We also believe that the testimony demonstrated that Mr. Turner acted lawfully and appropriately and intend to prove that to a jury.”

ABC News contacted attorneys for Williamson and Erickson, but requests for comment were not immediately returned.

According to court documents seen by ABC News, the defendants in the case have not yet entered pleas, and arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.

The Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office announced on August 6 that it had filed murder charges against all four people connected to Mitchell’s June 30 death at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Milwaukee.

“These charges are based on a comprehensive review of the evidence collected by the Milwaukee Police Department, the autopsy performed and the report from the Milwaukee County Coroner’s Office, as well as information received from members of the community,” the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.

The Milwaukee County Coroner concluded that Mitchell’s death was a homicide due to asphyxia caused by restraint and the toxic effects of cocaine and methamphetamine.

ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.

Copyright © 2024 ABC News Internet Ventures.

By Bronte

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