While relatives, friends and supporters prepare to celebrate the life of the late Garrett Hughes with a benefit concert on Saturday, April 8 at the Coffee Butler Amphitheater, Hughes’ accused killer, Lloyd Preston Brewer III, is preparing for a bond hearing at 9 a.m. on April 26 in the county courthouse.
Brewer, 57, has been in jail since the Feb. 13 shooting death of Hughes, who was 21 when he was shot in the parking lot of Conch Town Liquor & Lounge on North Roosevelt Boulevard in Key West, a few hours after the Super Bowl had ended.
Brewer, whose family owns the building that houses the bar, faces felony murder and firearms charges.
While the criminal case works its way through the courts, Hughes’ father, John Hughes, has filed a civil suit against Brewer, his father, Bud Brewer, the family’s trust and the property it owns.
In the civil suit, John Hughes’ attorney Stuart Grossman states that Brewer and the other defendants had a duty to maintain a safe and secure premises, and to warn people of any reasonably foreseeable dangers and risks,” the lawsuit states.
Attorney Grossman claims the defendants were derelict in this duty given their knowledge of Lloyd Preston Brewer’s “history of violence and weapons possession.”
In addition, the suit states, “The (defendants) furnished alcohol to defendant Brewer III, who became intoxicated. At the time of the incident, defendant Brewer III was habitually addicted to alcohol.”
Grossman told the Keys Weekly on Thursday, April 6 that he was about to view the bar’s security footage and would reserve comment until viewing it.
No bond was granted upon the arrest of Brewer, who has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutor Joe Mansfield has said he fully expects some type of self-defense or mental deficiency argument from Brewer’s defense attorneys, but added that the bar’s security video from that night does not support a self-defense claim.
Hughes, his brother and friends were reportedly drinking at the bar on Super Bowl Sunday, as was Brewer. After midnight, Brewer reportedly exited the bar and saw a shirtless and intoxicated Hughes allegedly urinating outside on the building. A short verbal exchange ended when Brewer allegedly pulled a gun and shot Hughes in his abdomen. He died later at Lower Keys Medical Center.
