Jury Convicts Key West Businessman of First-Degree Murder in 2023 Urination Dispute

A Monroe County jury of 12 found Key West businessman Lloyd Preston Brewer III guilty of first-degree murder for the February 2023 shooting of 21-year-old Garrett Hughes after a confrontation over urinating on Brewer's building.

Prosecutors said the confrontation began after Hughes left Conch Town Liquor & Lounge at 3340 N. Roosevelt Blvd. Surveillance video and eyewitness accounts shown at trial documented Brewer, then 57, walking toward Hughes, turning away, returning and advancing a second time. “As Brewer advanced the second time, surveillance video and eyewitness testimony established that Brewer had his hand on the butt of a firearm carried in his waistband,” prosecutors said in a news release. “As he closed the distance, Brewer drew the firearm and extended his arms into a two-handed shooting stance.” Brewer, now 60, fired two shots; one struck Hughes in the abdomen and killed him.

Brewer maintained the shooting was an act of self-defense during pretrial proceedings and at trial. Prosecutors countered that video evidence showed Brewer “had the opportunity to disengage but chose instead to return to the confrontation armed and use deadly force.” Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield said in part after the verdict, “This was not an act of self-defense. The jury saw the evidence, rejected Brewer’s account, and held him accountable for a premeditated killing.”

Assistant State Prosecutor Colleen Dunne told the court the case demonstrated a deliberate escalation. “Case showed a conscious and deliberate decision to escalate a confrontation into deadly violence,” Dunne said in a statement.

Brewer did not call any witnesses in his defense. The jury returned the first-degree murder conviction on Wednesday. Brewer is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 26 and faces the possibility of life in prison without parole.

The conviction carries immediate implications for Key West residents and Monroe County officials. The case centers on a common public-order nuisance, urination near a commercial building, that ended in a fatal use of force. For patrons of downtown bars and restaurants, the verdict underscores risks that can arise when property owners confront customers outside late-night establishments. For local business owners and property managers, the case highlights legal limits on using deadly force to address low-level disorder.

City and county leaders may face renewed calls to reinforce de-escalation training, clarify expectations for property-owner responses to nuisances and reassess patrol patterns along North Roosevelt Boulevard and other nightlife corridors. The court now moves toward sentencing on Feb. 26, and the outcome will shape local conversations about accountability, public-safety priorities and preventing similar tragedies in Monroe County.