More than three years after a shooting at a bar in Key West, Florida, turned deadly, the man responsible for the crime has been ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison.
On February 27, 2026, a judge in Monroe County sentenced 60-year-old Lloyd Preston Brewer III to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing 21-year-old Garrett Hughes.
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| Gareth Hughes |
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| The Crime Scene |
The shooting happened just after midnight on February 13, 2023, as people were leaving a bar called Conch Town Liquor and Lounge, after watching the Super Bowl game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Both Brewer and Hughes had been inside the bar watching the game, and Brewer owned the building where the bar operates, though he did not own the business itself.
As the crowd moved outside, a group gathered in the parking lot behind the building and discussed the game, while Hughes went to a closeby wall to urinate.
While Hughes was still relieving himself, Brewer walked outside and confronted him for urinating on the wall in his property, and within seconds the situation escalated.
“He came at me in a threatening manner and appeared he was reaching for something on his side,” Brewer told detectives, as seen in the video below.
He said he believed he was in danger, but an extensive investigation uncovered surveillance video and witness testimony which did not support Brewer’s version of events.
The footage reportedly showed Brewer initially walking away before he turned back toward Hughes, and approached him with his hand on the grip of a handgun in his waistband.
As he moved closer, Brewer pulled the weapon, took a two-handed stance, and fired two shots, striking Hughes once in the torso, as reported by Miami Herald.
“Lloyd Brewer initially walked away, but instead of continuing to disengage, he turned around and chose to confront the victim again,” said Joseph Mansfield, The Chief Assistant State Attorney.
The shooting happened in front of several witnesses, including Hughes’ friends and his brother, who immediately rushed to help him while waiting for emergency responders.
Hughes was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center, but as doctors were preparing to airlift him to a trauma hospital in Miami, he died.
“Garrett Hughes was shot in front of lifelong friends and his own brother, a moment that will forever live with those who witnessed it,” said Assistant State Attorney Colleen Dunne.
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| Garrett Hughes |
On January 21, 2026, a jury convicted Brewer of first-degree murder, rejecting his claim that the shooting was an act of self-defense.
Under Florida law, the conviction carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, which the judge formally imposed on February 27, 2026.
After the sentencing, Mansfield said the evidence presented during the trial made the sequence of events clear. “The jury saw exactly what happened and rejected his claims,” he said.
Brewer’s defense attorney, Jerome Ballarotto, said the legal fight is not over and confirmed that an appeal has already been filed.
“We feel very strongly it will be reversed,” Ballarotto said.
Prosecutors said the killing deeply affected the Key West community, where Hughes had grown up and built strong ties through school and sports. He had also been a standout football player at Key West High School, where his father also coaches the team.
For Hughes’ family and friends, the sentencing marked the end of a long legal process but not the end of their loss.
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