Key West Businessman Sentenced to Life Without Parole in 2023 Shooting

Lloyd Preston Brewer III was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Feb. 26, 2026 after a Monroe County jury convicted him of first-degree murder in the 2023 killing of 21-year-old Garrett Hughes behind Conch Town Liquor & Lounge, 3340 N. Roosevelt Blvd., Key West.

Prosecutors say the shooting occurred just after midnight on Feb. 13, 2023, following Super Bowl Sunday celebrations when both Brewer and Hughes had been drinking and watching the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles inside the bar. Authorities allege Hughes urinated on the rear wall of the building, prompting Brewer - who owned the shopping center that houses the bar but did not own the bar itself - to confront him in the parking lot.

A Monroe County jury found Brewer guilty on Jan. 21, 2026 after about four hours of deliberation. Judge Mark Jones presided at the Key West courthouse during trial proceedings and had scheduled sentencing for Feb. 26 at 1:30 p.m.; Brewer, 60 at sentencing, received life without parole. The conviction returned by the jury followed closing arguments in which prosecutors portrayed the shooting as a deliberate reengagement rather than self-defense.

Monroe County Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield summarized the prosecution’s theory at sentencing: “This was not self-defense, it was a deliberate decision to reengage and escalate the confrontation with deadly force.” Mansfield added that Brewer “initially walked away, but instead of continuing to disengage, he turned around and chose to confront the victim again. He closed the distance, drew his weapon, and fired.” Major Crimes Assistant State Prosecutor Colleen Dunne framed the killing as a disproportionate response to a minor act: “Garrett Hughes lost his life due to a grossly disproportionate and deadly response to a minor act.”

Witness testimony cited during trial included a woman identified in reports as Melissa Roberts (spelled Melssa in some accounts) who was in the rear parking lot and testified she saw no chance for the victim; prosecutors quoted her line, “That kid didn’t stand a chance,” in closing. The prosecution emphasized that Brewer initially walked away from the scene before returning with a firearm.

Brewer’s post-shooting police interview and interrogation footage played at trial showed him saying, “I stood my ground,” and “I feared for my life.” Brewer told investigators he thought Hughes “came at me in a threatening manner and appeared he was reaching for something on his side” and said he warned Hughes before drawing his weapon. Brewer’s attorney has denied the killing was premeditated and said an appeal would be filed.

Under Florida law a first-degree murder conviction carries either the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole; prosecutors did not seek death, leaving life without parole as the mandatory sentence. Brewer has 30 days from his conviction to file a notice of appeal, and Keys Weekly and the Miami Herald report an appeal is expected, beginning what could be a lengthy appellate process for a case that stunned the Key West community and involved the son of local Conchs coach John Hughes.