Suspected Orlando, Fla., Cop Killer Markeith Loyd Captured and in Custody

The man accused of shooting and killing Orlando, Fla., Police Lt. Debra Clayton was captured and taken into custody Tuesday after a nine-day manhunt. Suggested Reading Lizzo Finally Admits the Secret Behind Her Dramatic Weight Loss Transformation Internet Is Furious After Trump Is Quiet About Juneteenth Except for This 1 Post… 15 Freedom Songs to…

The man accused of shooting and killing Orlando, Fla., Police Lt. Debra Clayton was captured and taken into custody Tuesday after a nine-day manhunt.

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Markeith Loyd, 41, was found and captured in an abandoned home in West Orlando at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and the Orlando Sentinel reports that Claytonโ€™s handcuffs were used to take him into custody.

Loydโ€™s face was bloodied and beaten, with his eyes and lips swollen, as he was led by more than half a dozen law-enforcement officers into Orlando police headquarters. As he passed nearby cameras, he yelled, โ€œThey beat me up! They beat me up!โ€

According to the Sentinel, Orlando Police Chief John Mina flashed a wide smile as Loyd was led into the building.

โ€œThe injuries looked minor to me,โ€ Mina said at a press conference. He said that Loyd was getting medical attention for his injuries, and Loyd was later taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

Loyd is accused of fatally shooting his 24-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Sade Dixon, and injuring her brother as he rushed to help her. He is accused of shooting and killing Clayton on Jan. 9 as she tried to apprehend him at an Orlando Wal-Mart shopping center.

A longtime family friend of Claytonโ€™s, Jack Williams, told the Sentinel that he was glad Loyd had been caught.

โ€œHonestly speaking, I wanted him to put up a fight so theyโ€™d kill him,โ€ Williams said. โ€œI will be more at peace once heโ€™s been sentenced and put to death because heโ€™s a menace to society, and he doesnโ€™t need to be living here amongst us.

โ€œNow I pray for a conviction,โ€ Williams added.

https://twitter.com/OrlandoPolice/status/821529610189938690

Loyd currently faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm in the deaths of Dixon and her unborn child, the Sentinel reports, as well as attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of Dixonโ€™s brother, 26-year-old Ronald Stewart. Charges for Claytonโ€™s death have not been filed yet.

Loydโ€™s arrest came hours after Mina said he was added to the U.S. Marshals Officeโ€™s 15 Most Wanted fugitives list.

Mina said that more arrests were coming.

โ€œAnyone who harbored, aided or abetted him in any way is going to be arrested,โ€ Mina said. โ€œAnd we know from our investigation that people did help him.โ€

Mina also said that using Claytonโ€™s handcuffs to place Loyd in custody is a โ€œtradition in law enforcement that goes back many years.โ€

โ€œTo put her handcuffs on the bad guy โ€ฆ is meaningful to her family and her law-enforcement family,โ€ Mina said.

Read more at the Orlando Sentinel.

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