Milwaukee Police Department refers 4 felony murder charges to DA's office in death outside Hyatt

Milwaukee police referred four charges of felony murder in the death of D'Vontaye Mitchell, a 43-year-old man who died after being held facedown on the ground outside the Hyatt Regency hotel, to the district attorney, a police spokesperson said Thursday.

Sgt. Efrain Cornejo told the Journal Sentinel the department has been in consultation with the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office since July 5 and that it subsequently referred the charges. The District Attorney's Office has not made a decision on whether to file charges, he said.

The four people aren't in custody and police aren't seeking them at this time, Cornejo said.

Friday, the Milwaukee Police Department said in a press release that it also referred an "underlying charge of battery" against the four people.

"Evidence was reviewed by both civilian and sworn investigators," the press release said. "On July 5, 2024, felony murder charges with the underlying charge of battery were referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office against four individuals."

The district attorney's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The office previously said it was reviewing Mitchell's death as a homicide case.

In Wisconsin, a conviction for felony murder carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. By contrast, a conviction for first-degree reckless homicide is punishable by up 60 years. Anyone convicted of first-degree intentional homicide faces a mandatory life imprisonment.

Mitchell died June 30 outside the Hyatt Regency hotel, 333 W. Kilbourn Ave., at about 4 p.m. Hotel security held him facedown before he died, with knees on parts of his back.

Mitchell's death has invoked the police killing of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who died in a similar fashion as police held him down with their knees on his back.

One of the Mitchell family attorneys, Will Sulton, had strong words for the police department Thursday for not contacting the family with the decision to refer criminal charges and for not making arrests.

"They need to follow Marsy's Law," Sulton said.

Wisconsin voters approved the state's version of Marsy's Law in 2020 as a constitutional amendment after it passed the state Legislature twice. The victims' rights law is named after Marsy Nicholas, who was murdered by a former boyfriend in California in 1983.

He confronted her family a week after she died, when the family was unaware he'd been released on bail. Her billionaire brother started efforts to expand victims' rights, which became the national Marsy's Law movement.

The 2020 amendment and other legislation passed in 1993 and 1980 protect crime victims' right to privacy but also mandate that they're treated with dignity, such as in communication from police.

Opponents say it bogs down the legal system and argue the wording on the 2020 ballot was confusing for the average voter. It was challenged in court, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the amendment in 2023.

"The (Mitchell) families are now crime victims, and that means they have rights," Sulton said. "Among those rights is a right to communication. The Police Department did not reach out to the family. They should have, and they need to do so in the future.

"They need to provide regular updates on the progress of their investigation and where things are, and I really do not understand why the Police Department and Chief (Jeffrey) Norman are treating the family like this. We demand more from the Police Department here."

Sulton, who's part of a team of lawyers that includes well-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump, has met with the District Attorney's Office on multiple occasions and reviewed evidence, including video from inside the hotel.

"(Police) made the determination that this was not a criminal investigation. ... It was onlookers and family gathering evidence, which led to meetings with the District Attorney's Office, which led us here now.

"And, let's be clear here, we have body camera footage of security officials at Hyatt lying on camera saying, 'I didn't strike him. I didn't see anybody strike him,' even though that's all on camera. You see them punching him, kicking him, hitting him with a broom, hitting him with a baton. ... It is just completely outrageous."

Sulton said it is "shocking" that police will not be pursuing arrests despite referring felony charges.

"I think the behavior of the Police Department is really, really wrong and really, really appalling," he said.

On Wednesday, the family, attorneys and supporters held a demonstration outside a downtown Milwaukee police and court building.

Sulton said video shows Mitchell ran from Hyatt security and into the women’s bathroom, where two women described Mitchell as being scared. Upon exiting the bathroom, Sulton said Hyatt security “punched down” at Mitchell.

"D’Vontaye was trying to run for his life,” Sulton said Wednesday.

When he was confronted by the guards, he had his hands up, but was dragged to the floor and beaten, begging for the blows to stop, according to the attorneys.

The Journal Sentinel has not independently reviewed the footage the attorneys reference.

Members of Mitchell’s family told reporters they were "repulsed and shocked" by the video.

An initial police news release said that security held him down following what it described as a disturbance and subsequent fight as he was escorted out. A family attorney said Mitchell was having a mental health crisis.

Earlier Thursday, Mitchell's family held a funeral for the 43-year-old man. Prominent civil right activist and minister Al Sharpton gave the eulogy, and hundreds attended the service.

Aimbridge Hospitality, the operator of the Hyatt hotel, said it had fired the employees involved in the incident on Wednesday night. That came after a Hyatt spokesperson said the company supported firing the employees and issuing criminal charges against them.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: D'Vontaye Mitchell death in Milwaukee: 4 murder charges referred to DA