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 Claytonโs handcuffs were used to take him into custody.
Loydโs 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, โThey 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.
โThe 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 Claytonโs, Jack Williams, told the Sentinel that he was glad Loyd had been caught.
โHonestly speaking, I wanted him to put up a fight so theyโd kill him,โ Williams said. โI will be more at peace once heโs been sentenced and put to death because heโs a menace to society, and he doesnโt need to be living here amongst us.
โNow I pray for a conviction,โ Williams added.
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 Dixonโs brother, 26-year-old Ronald Stewart. Charges for Claytonโs death have not been filed yet.
Loydโs arrest came hours after Mina said he was added to the U.S. Marshals Officeโs 15 Most Wanted fugitives list.
Mina said that more arrests were coming.
โAnyone who harbored, aided or abetted him in any way is going to be arrested,โ Mina said. โAnd we know from our investigation that people did help him.โ
Mina also said that using Claytonโs handcuffs to place Loyd in custody is a โtradition in law enforcement that goes back many years.โ
โTo put her handcuffs on the bad guy โฆ is meaningful to her family and her law-enforcement family,โ Mina said.
Read more at the Orlando Sentinel.
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