Garrett Daniel Hughes, a 21-year-old White man from Key West, Florida, was a beloved figure in his tight-knit community. A standout athlete in football and lacrosse at Key West High School, where his father, John Hughes, was the head football coach, Garrett went on to work as a first mate. He remained deeply involved in local sports, coaching young children in the games he had excelled at.
He was known for his vibrant personality and love for the sea.
In the early morning hours of February 13, 2023, just after the Super Bowl, Hughes was outside the now-closed Conch Town Liquor & Lounge on North Roosevelt Boulevard. He was intoxicated, shirtless and unarmed, urinating on the wall of an adjacent building. Security camera footage captured Lloyd Preston Brewer III, then 57, a local businessman whose family owned the building housing the lounge, walking across the parking lot and confronting Hughes. During the interaction, Brewer fired a handgun, shooting Hughes once in the abdomen. Hughes was rushed to Lower Keys Medical Center, where he died as doctors prepared to airlift him to a trauma hospital in Miami-Dade County.
Brewer was arrested and held in the county jail on Stock Island without bond. In June 2023, a Monroe County grand jury indicted him on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and violating his concealed weapons permit. Additional charges were later added, including improper exhibition of a firearm and using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
Brewer’s attorneys mounted a "Stand Your Ground" defense, filing a motion to dismiss the case by arguing that Brewer acted in self-defense. They claimed he felt threatened and that his life was in danger, alleging Hughes had been aggressive and grabbed for the gun. Prosecutors from the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office strongly disagreed, pointing to the security footage that showed Hughes was unarmed and did not advance on Brewer before being shot.
After a series of legal delays, the case went to trial. In January 2026, a jury found Lloyd Preston Brewer III guilty of first-degree murder. At the sentencing hearing on February 26, 2026, the courtroom gallery was filled with Hughes's family, friends, and supporters, many wearing red in a show of "Conch Pride." Judge Mark Jones denied a final motion for a new trial before sentencing Brewer to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Hughes family chose not to give victim impact statements. The case was officially closed as of February 2026.
