It took a jury about four hours to find Preston Brewer guilty of first-degree murder on Jan. 21 at the Key West courthouse. Judge Mark Jones scheduled a sentencing hearing for Thursday, Feb. 26 at 1:30 p.m.
Florida law states that a first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In the case of Brewer, who was convicted of first-degree murder for the February 2023 fatal shooting of Garrett Hughes, prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, so Brewer faces life without parole.
Brewer has 30 days from the date of his conviction to file a notice of appeal, which is expected, said prosecutor Colleen Dunne. Then the case winds its way through what can be a lengthy appellate process.
Witness testimony and closing arguments in the murder trial wrapped up around lunchtime on Jan. 21, when Jones sent the jurors into deliberations with specific instructions about their verdict options. The jurors could find Brewer guilty of first-degree murder, guilty of second-degree murder or not guilty of either crime.
Three days of witness testimony began after the jury was seated on Jan. 15 and wrapped up on Jan. 20, when prosecutors Colleen Dunne and Joe Mansfield rested their case. Defense attorneys Jerome Ballarotto and Mark Catanzaro declined to call any witnesses. Brewer, 60, declined to testify.
Video evidence played a significant role during testimony of witnesses, who helped narrate security footage from the bar parking lot that detailed the moments up to and including the fatal shooting.
Witnesses included Garrett Hughes’ brother, Carson Hughes, and friends Blake Arencibia and Logan Pellecier. The jury also saw footage from inside the bar before the shooting, as well as police body-cam footage from the parking lot that night and during police interviews with Brewer after the shooting.
The morning of Jan. 21, the jury heard closing arguments from both sides.
Ballarotto’s often-meandering closing argument stunned some courtroom observers, who accused him of “victim blaming” as he pointed to security footage of Hughes just moments before his death, saying derisively, “That’s how drunk he is. Look at him. Totally drunk.”
Ballarotto said in his closing that Hughes demonstrated “an attitude of entitlement.”
The prosecutors used that same inebriated condition that Ballarotto pointed out to emphasize that Garrett Hughes did not pose a deadly threat to Brewer the night of the shooting – he was shirtless, drunk, unarmed and had been urinating in a parking lot behind a bar when Brewer approached him.
“Garrett Hughes lost his life due to a grossly disproportionate and deadly response to a minor act,” Dunne said in her closing. “The defendant was irritated, annoyed, rude and upset because Garrett Hughes peed on the wall of a building outside. The confrontation went from mere words to the defendant grabbing his gun, aiming it at Garrett and ultimately shooting him.”
In his closing, Mansfield reminded the jury of the testimony of witness Melssa Roberts, who happened to be in the parking lot smoking a cigarette at the time of the shooting.
“Melissa Roberts testified, ‘That kid didn’t stand a chance,’” Mansfield said.
