FATAL SHOOTING OUTSIDE A KEY WEST BAR ROCKS COMMUNITY

PROSECUTORS SAY VIDEO EVIDENCE WOULD NOT SUPPORT SELF - DEFENSE CLAIM

MANDY MILES mandy@keysweekly.com

Key West Police are investigating a fatal shooting involving two well-known residents that occurred just after midnight Monday in the parking between Conch Town Bar and the Wendy’s on North Roosevelt Boulevard.

Lloyd “Preston “ Brewer, 57, was arrested in the fatal shooting of Garrett Hughes, 21, and faces two felony charges of homicide and a felony “weapon offense,” according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Town Bar on North Roosevelt Boulevard late Sunday night, or early Monday morning. MANDY MILES/Keys Weekly

JIM MCCARTHY jim@keysweekly.com

Pedestrian Killed After Being Reportedly Struck By Fhp Vehicle

Key West resident Lloyd Preston Brewer, 57, faces charges of felony homicide and a felony weapons offense.

MONROE COUNTY

Hughes is a well-known Key West High School athlete who played football and ran track before graduating in 2020. Brewer owns the building that houses Conch Town Bar, where Hughes and friends were reportedly drinking.

Traffic along U.S. 1 near Mile Marker 98 was at a standstill for a period of time on Feb. 13 after a Florida Highway Patrol vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian near Ballyhoo’s restaurant.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE/ Contributed

Prosecutors with the State Attorney’s Office told the Keys Weekly that they have reviewed video evidence from the bar’s security cameras. The video shows a drunk and shirtless Hughes outside the bar, urinating on the side of the building.

The video shows Brewer arriving in his car and “exchanging words” with Hughes, said Joe Mansfield, chief assistant state attorney.

“The shirtless victim was clearly intoxicated and urinating on the wall when the suspect approaches,” Mansfield said. “I suspect the shooter was annoyed by what he saw, confronted the kid, then pulls a gun and shoots him in the stomach, which proved fatal. There are no weapons on or near the victim, nor is the victim seen reaching for anything. Now, I’d bet my 401(k) that the suspect will file a self-defense, Stand Your Ground defense, but the allegation that he was justified in using deadly force is not substantiated by the video evidence in this case.”

“In its simplest form,” says the website of Hussein & Webber, a Florida law firm, “Florida’s Stand Your Ground law provides that a person is justified in the use of deadly force and has no duty to retreat if either:

“The person reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself, or another, or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony; or

“The person acts under and according to the circumstances set forth in Section 776.013 (presuming a reasonable belief as to the necessity of force in the context of ‘dwellings,’ residences, or vehicles).”

Key West resident Garrett Hughes, 21, died of a gunshot wound to the stomach the morning of Feb. 13 at Lower Keys Medical Center. CONTRIBUTED

Eyewitness statements were also taken from Hughes’ two friends at the bar that night, Mansfield said, acknowledging that a defense attorney will point out their potential bias toward the victim.

Mansfield obtained a search warrant early Monday morning for a blood sample to test Brewer’s toxicology. Those results are pending, he said.

Police received a 911 call at 12:28 a.m. Monday, Feb. 13.

“Upon arrival, police encountered a subject who was lying in the parking lot and had been shot,” states the police press release. “While the subject was being treated for his injuries, officers immediately detained the suspect who was still on scene and recovered the gun. The victim was transported to the Lower Keys Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased shortly after. The scene was secured for several hours while KWPD detectives responded and took over the investigation. The suspect was transported to the police station, interviewed and arrested; charges are pending as the investigation is still ongoing.”

Police officers left the crime scene at 10:15 a.m. Monday, and no crime scene tape remained.

According to FHP, a trooper was traveling south on U.S. 1 around 12:30 p.m. when his marked car hit an adult female who was attempting to cross the highway. FHP Lt. Alex Camacho said both southbound lanes were closed throughout the afternoon as investigators pieced together the events that led to the crash. Traffic was backed up in the northbound and southbound lanes in what was a busy day on the road with Valentine’s Day approaching.

"The pedestrian died on scene as a result of her injuries," said Camacho in a statement.

As a result of the crash, buses were unable to transport students from Coral Shores High School to their homes. The southbound lanes opened four hours later, but heavy traffic remained on U.S. 1.

The names of the female and the trooper involved in the crash haven’t been released. Camacho said an investigation is ongoing.