A Florida resident faces a lengthy prison term after fatally shooting a man who was found urinating while intoxicated on his family’s strip mall, prosecutors revealed on Wednesday.

This week, a Monroe County jury convicted 60-year-old Lloyd Preston Brewer III of first-degree murder.

As a result, Brewer is expected to receive a life sentence without the chance of parole for the killing of 21-year-old Garrett Hughes.

The tragic event took place on February 13, 2023, in the parking area of Conch Town Liquor & Lounge located on Roosevelt Boulevard in Key West.

Video surveillance captures Brewer confronting the shirtless Hughes after he relieved himself on the building’s exterior. The footage shows Brewer reaching for his waistband before raising his arms, followed by a scuffle, although the actual shooting is obscured in the blurry video.

Brewer discharged his weapon twice, with one bullet hitting Hughes in the abdomen. Subsequently, Hughes succumbed to his injuries in an alleyway behind the bar.

Police would describe the defendant as going into a “shooting stance” before the fatal shot took the young man’s life, according to a police report obtained by Miami-based ABC affiliate WPLG.

“(Hughes) is kind of stumbling around, and (Brewer) pulls up his shirt, pulls out a gun and pumps a shot into his stomach,” Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward previously told the TV station.

Prosecutors described the killing in more detail this week.

“As Brewer advanced the second time, surveillance video and eyewitness testimony established that Brewer had his hand on the butt of a firearm carried in his waistband,” a press release reads. “As he closed the distance, Brewer drew the firearm and extended his arms into a two-handed shooting stance.”

The defendant was originally arrested on one count of second-degree murder. In June 2023, Brewer, the owner of the strip mall where the victim was urinating, was indicted on the more serious charge.

Lloyd Preston Brewer III in his original booking photo (Monroe County Sheriff’s Office).

The fatal incident occurred on a Super Bowl Sunday; the drinking establishment where both men had been imbibing alcohol prior to the shooting has since permanently closed.

Brewer claimed he acted in self-defense during his own 911 call.

“Yes, hello, I just shot someone,” the defendant says in the recording.

The dispatcher then asks who the man shot.

“I don’t know,” Brewer says before asking someone nearby for the dying man’s name. “Garrett Hughes.”

The dispatcher then asks why the defendant shot the victim.

“He came at me aggressively in my parking lot at Conch Town,” Brewer replies.

The defendant would maintain his self-defense claim for years, but that claim was rejected by a court of appeals in July 2025.

During the ensuing confrontation, Brewer walked toward Hughes and at first turned away. Then, the defendant turned back and walked toward Hughes a second time – armed with a gun – and cornered him.

“This was not an act of self-defense,” Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield said in a statement provided to Law&Crime. “The jury saw the evidence, rejected Brewer’s account, and held him accountable for a premeditated killing.”

During the trial, Brewer’s defense did not call any witnesses.

The state, for its part, proved to jurors that Brewer’s statements to law enforcement did not align with the sequence of events shown on the surveillance video or with eyewitness testimony, prosecutors said.

“This case showed a conscious and deliberate decision to escalate a confrontation into deadly violence,” Major Crimes Assistant State Prosecutor Colleen Dunne said. “We are deeply grateful to the witnesses who came forward and testified, knowing the difficulty and responsibility that come with telling the truth in a murder trial. Their courage, combined with clear video evidence and thorough investigative work, ensured that justice was done for Garrett Hughes.”

The defendant is slated to be sentenced on Feb. 26 by 16th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones.