Accused cop killer Markeith Loyd is being temporarily moved to the Seminole County Jail as the State Attorney’s Office there investigates Loyd’s claims that Orlando police used excessive force during his arrest following a 9-day manhunt.
Gov. Rick Scott issued an executive order appointing Seminole County to investigate the Orlando Police Department’s use of force against Loyd when he was captured, Channel 9 found out.
In January 2017, Loyd allegedly gunned down Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton in a Walmart parking lot after she recognized him as being sought in his ex-girlfriend’s slaying.
When Loyd was taken to Orlando Police Headquarters after his arrest in January 2017, his face was bloody and bruised, and he yelled, “They beat me up” at Channel 9’s cameras.
Loyd suffered a fractured eye socket and other injuries to his face.
Authorities want to move Loyd out of the Orange County Jail and into the Seminole County Jail so they could question him outside the jurisdiction where the alleged use of force incident occurred, Channel 9 learned.
Loyd’s attorney Roger Weeden tried to fight the request, which was the purpose of the hearing.
"I think what they want to do is interview you in a jail other than the Orange County Jail in a jurisdiction other than the jurisdiction where the use of force is alleged to have occurred," Chief Judge Frederick Lauten said.
Weeden later agreed to allow Loyd to be transferred if his lawyers can be present in Seminole County.
“I was concerned about them taking him out of the Orange County Jail to the Seminole County Jail, who he was going to be exposed to and what questions were going to be asked,” said Weeden.
After they hammered out a plan for a temporary move to Seminole County and a way to question the accused copt killer, they realized no one had asked Loyd whether he was willing to talk.
“They’re asking me to ask you if you want to be interviewed. I guess they don’t want to go through all of this if you’re just going to say, ‘I just don’t want to talk to you.’ Do you know now?” the judge asked Loyd.
“I can do it as long as my lawyer’s there,” Loyd said.
Loyd talking in an investigation stemming from his own complaints was never a foregone conclusion—it’s been a saga replete with frequent outbursts from the a defendant with a penchant for cursing at judges.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Loyd was also accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, and her unborn child in December 2016.
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Loyd grabbed headlines by going on the run for more than a week.
Orange County Deputy Norm Lewis was killed in a motorcycle crash while responding in the search for Loyd.
Between the Dixon and Clayton cases, prosecutors have identified 194 witnesses.
Cox Media Group
