Accused cop killer seen injured, bloody during arrest
ORLANDO, Fla. - The man accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend and an Orlando police officer remains hospitalized after being taken into custody at the end of a massive nine-day manhunt, reports CBS affiliate WKMG.
Police took Markeith Loyd from Orlando Police headquarters to Orlando Regional Medical Center at 9:30 p.m. after police tracked him down around 7 p.m. Tuesday at an abandoned house. Loyd crawled out of the house wearing body armor and armed with two guns, according to Orlando Police Chief John Mina.
During a Tuesday night press conference, Mina said Loyd initially tried to escape out the back of the house through a sliding glass door, but came out through the front door and dropped the firearms on the ground. One of the guns had a 100-round capacity, Mina said.
Mina said Loyd resisted arrest but no officers were injured during his capture.
In video recorded outside the Orlando Police Department headquarters, Loyd’s face appears bloody and swollen. He sustained injuries that Mina described as “minor” during his capture.
But as Loyd was being taken out of police headquarters on his way to the hospital, an at times smiling Loyd repeatedly yelled to reporters, “They beat me up.”
Police had searched for Loyd since mid-December, when he was named as a suspect in the murder of his pregnant ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon, 24. That search intensified on Jan. 9, when Orlando Lt. Debra Clayton was fatally shot while approaching a man police believe to be Loyd outside a Walmart.
The shooting triggered the widespread manhunt for Loyd, during which Orange County Deputy Norman Lewis was fatally struck by a vehicle. While Loyd remained on the Lam for another eight days, three people were arrested and accused of helping Loyd avoid capture.
By the time he was tracked down on Tuesday, $125,000 in rewards were being offered for information leading to Loyd’s arrest. Police said they fielded more than 1,400 tips during the search. Police sources told WKMG that no one will be rewarded the money, because officials are attributing the arrest to law enforcement investigative tactics.
No one else was inside the home when Loyd was taken into custody. The house was abandoned, and Mina said it was not clear long Loyd had been hiding inside. Mina added that police believe the house is linked to people known to associate with Loyd. He said more arrests are expected.
Mina said that police used Clayton’s handcuffs to arrest Loyd.
“That’s a tradition in law enforcement that goes back many, many years,” Mina said. “Debra Clayton risked her life for this community that she loves so dearly and to put her handcuffs on the bad guy that she was trying to catch when she was killed is just significant, meaningful to her family....as well as the law enforcement community.”
Clayton’s husband was “relieved and happy” to hear news of the arrest, according to Jay Carr, who acted Tuesday as a spokesperson for the family.
“Seth (Clayton) wants to thank OPD and all law enforcement agencies that assisted in the capture of Markeith Loyd and that he is confident that justice will be served,” Carr said.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings called Loyd a “maniac” and said he will be charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm, two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of attempted murder. Additional charges are likely.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the person claiming he’d been beaten up as Orlando Police Chief John Mina. It was, in fact, the suspect, Markeith Loyd. We apologize for the error.
