Despite a judge granting him a $3 million bond, accused murderer Preston Brewer has remained in jail since the February 2023 shooting death of Key Wester Garrett Hughes, who was 21 at the time of his death.
Brewer’s murder trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 6 in front of Judge Mark Jones, who has also scheduled three days for jury selection, given the attention the case has received.
At a hearing on Sept. 9, Brewer’s defense attorney, Jerome Ballarotto, argued for the suppression of video evidence that was recorded by Key West police in the early-morning hours immediately following the shooting at the now-closed Conch Town Liquor and Lounge on North Roosevelt Boulevard. Ballarotto argued this week that Brewer had “unequivocally” asked for his attorney immediately after the shooting in the bar’s parking lot and thus the video evidence of Brewer speaking with police should not be allowed to be presented at trial.
Prosecutors Colleen Dunne and Joe Mansfield have argued that Brewer’s statements about attempting to call his attorney that night do not amount to an “unequivocal” request for an attorney.
When Brewer got to the Key West police station the night of the shooting “every statement is initiated by Mr. Brewer,” Dunne argued at the Sept. 9 hearing. “He’s also the one who asked to speak with a specific detective, Detective Marcus DelValle, and the police department complied. What reason would he have to request Detective DelValle other than to talk?”
Judge Jones took both sides’ arguments under advisement and said he would rewatch a 55-minute compilation of videos that the lawyers on both sides assembled.
“I know my decision will affect your trial preparations on both sides, but I can’t in good conscience make a decision here today. I have some homework to do and I’ll take it under advisement.”
Both sides’ attorneys were amenable to the judge’s consideration.
Ballarotto had sought in December 2024 to have Jones dismiss Brewer’s murder charge, based on Florida’s Stand Your Ground law that allows people to use deadly force in self-defense without retreating if they are in a place they have a right to be and are not engaged in criminal activity. The defense only applies if the person reasonably believes they are threatened with imminent death or great bodily harm, and it only applies to people who are not the aggressor.
Jones denied the self-defense claim in February 2025, having listened to arguments from Brewer’s attorney and state prosecutors. Jones determined that Brewer, now 59, was the aggressor, writing in his five-page order, “It is clear to the court that the defendant, Lloyd P. Brewer III, instigated his deadly confrontation with Garrett Hughes.”
In his order, Jones summarizes the situation that unfolded that night of Feb. 13, 2023 at Conch Town Liquor & Lounge on North Roosevelt Boulevard, which is now closed. At the time of the shooting, following the 2023 Super Bowl, Brewer’s family had owned the building that housed the bar business and the parking lot where the shooting occurred, but did not own the tenant business.
The judge wrote that the incident started when Brewer exited the bar and saw a drunk Hughes, who had been drinking in the bar moments earlier, in the parking lot, urinating against the wall of a neighboring building. Security video footage shows that Hughes was shirtless and wearing shorts and flip flops at the time of the shooting.
“Unfortunately, at the time, both men were intoxicated,” Jones wrote. “Without a doubt, their respective states of intoxication contributed greatly to the catastrophic decision-making that ultimately brought about Mr. Hughes’ death and Mr. Brewer’s prosecution.”
The judge acknowledged that Hughes, a Key West native who was 21 at the time of his death, should not have been urinating on the wall and that Brewer, the property owner, had the right to admonish Hughes “and use lawful measures to curtail his inappropriate conduct.”
Jones wrote that Hughes should have listened to Brewer and to his own friends and simply left the property to end the situation.
“Things should have ended with the verbal exchange between the two men,” the judge’s order states. “Unfortunately, Mr. Brewer took it upon himself to drastically escalate the situation by physically confronting and cornering Mr. Hughes. Specifically, Mr. Brewer advanced across the parking lot while simultaneously lifting his shirt sufficiently to display and grasp his holstered and loaded handgun. When Mr. Brewer stopped about 10 feet from Garrett Hughes, Mr. Hughes found himself trapped between the wall and the parked vehicles on either side of him with a gun-packing, angry man blocking his only obvious means of escape.
“The court finds that stand your ground immunity was not enacted to protect someone like Lloyd Brewer under these circumstances, which he created,” the order states.
Ballarotto appealed Jones’ self-defense denial, and in May of this year, the Third District Court of Appeal refused to hear oral arguments pertaining to Brewer’s self-defense claim, meaning the case would proceed to trial.
