BREAKING: Judge delays Conch Town murder trial
Prosecutors hope to set the trial for mid-January.
KEY WEST, Fla. — Just 10 days before jury selection was set to begin, one of the Florida Keys’ most closely watched murder trials has been postponed after defense counsel said he could not proceed while handling the affairs of his late law partner.
Circuit Judge Mark Jones on Wednesday delayed the trial of Lloyd Preston Brewer III, who remains jailed after Jones last week denied him bail, ruling that he posed a flight risk.
Brewer is accused of fatally shooting 21-year-old Garrett Hughes outside Conch Town Liquor & Lounge in February 2023 after a late-night confrontation. Jury selection had been scheduled for Oct. 6 at the Freeman Justice Center.
Brewer’s attorney, Jerry Ballarotto, asked for a continuance following the sudden death of attorney Cara Higgins, his longtime law partner and of counsel in the case. Ballarotto told the court that Higgins had designated him to serve as inventory attorney for her practice — a responsibility that requires him to settle her law office affairs and ensure her clients’ interests are protected.
Jones said he scheduled Wednesday’s hearing via Zoom because he wanted to see and hear directly from both sides before deciding whether to delay the trial.
“I have been presiding over this case for a number of months,” Jones said during the hearing, which included attorneys and Hughes’ family. “Two years is not a lot of time for a murder trial to sit on the calendar. Three to four years is normal for these kinds of things. The State intends to seek life in prison, and that is the second harshest sentence available to us.”
A clearly shaken Ballarotto told the judge he could not both manage Higgins’ estate and give Brewer the level of defense required in a potential life sentence case in the short term.
Assistant State Attorney Joe Mansfield argued against the delay, noting that more than 1,100 jury summons have been issued, witnesses have rearranged schedules and Hughes’ family members have already purchased airline tickets.
“Your honor, we are sensitive to Mr. Ballarotto‘s situation, but the Hughes family shouldn’t have to wait any longer for justice,” Mansfield said.
Hughes’ mother, Leslie Touzalin, told the court she sympathized with Higgins’ family but said her family’s loss remained paramount.
Jones, who called the ruling one of the most difficult of his 40-year judicial career, ultimately sided with the defense, saying both families’ circumstances carried “enormous merit.”
No new trial date has been set, though prosecutors said they hope to proceed before February which will be the third anniversary of Hughes’ death.
This is an evolving story. Watch this space.