ORLANDO, Fla. — The monumental task of sorting through hundreds of potential jurors began Friday morning in the murder trial of Markeith Loyd, who's accused in the killings of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and an Orlando Police Department lieutenant.

This first trial at the Orange County Courthouse will focus on the murder of ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon, which is actually for two capital offenses: both for her and her unborn child. Loyd is accused of killing Dixon at her home in December 2016 when she was 3 months pregnant. Her brother was also shot and critically injured.

Then almost four weeks later, authorities say Loyd opened fire on Lt. Debra Clayton when she confronted him in a parking lot at an Orlando Walmart, killing her. That sparked a massive manhunt as law enforcement flooded the city. Loyd was arrested nine days later.

There was 250 potential jurors summoned to report at the courthouse at 8:30 a.m. and then another 250 at noon.

A dozen jurors and at least two alternates ultimately will be selected for this trial. Because of the nature of this case and because so many people have heard about it, it could take up to several weeks to find jurors who can keep an open mind about the case.

Before the court began bringing groups of 50 people into the courtroom, attorneys and the judge discussed a few matters. At one point, Loyd’s lead defense attorney said he would again file a request to delay this trial, because he says a doctor is still in the process of evaluating Loyd’s mental status.

Defense attorney Terence Lenamon says he is not convinced Loyd is competent to stand trial, saying Loyd was clinically insane when Clayton was shot in January 2017 because he had a constant fear that police wanted to kill him.

"He has testimony that is relevant to my client’s state of mind at the time of the incident with Debra Clayton. And the relevance of that is my client had a continual belief that police wanted to kill him," Lenamon said.

The court concluded in August that Loyd is competent to stand trial, and the judge has denied repeated requests from the defense to delay this trial.

Loyd has frequently spoken up in court during this case, but he remained quiet early Friday, with a different demeanor than in previous court hearings. Loyd also appeared in the courtroom for the first time without a black eye patch over his left eye, which was injured during his arrest.

Because Loyd is facing two separate trials, prosecutors are not allowed to go into much detail on Clayton's shooting death. Initially, Loyd was facing one trial for both killings, but Loyd objected. Then, he changed his mind, and his lawyers tried to double back, saying they needed more time to prepare. The judge ruled against that.

The courthouse is closed Monday for the Rosh Hashanah holiday, but on Tuesday, the judge and attorneys will begin questioning potential jurors about whether they can keep an open mind about the case. More than half said Friday that they recognize Loyd from news coverage.

Sheriff recalls manhunt for Loyd

Orange County Sheriff John Mina remembers December 13, 2016, like it was yesterday.

Orlando Police officers were called out to an Orlando home, where they found Dixon murdered on the front porch.

Just a day later, investigators identified a suspect: Dixon's ex-boyfriend, Loyd.

Mina, Orlando's police chief at the time, made a plea for Loyd to turn himself in.

"I do remember the community really being in fear because they knew how dangerous he was," Mina said.

It would be almost four weeks later, on January 9, when Loyd finally surfaced. Just after 7 that Monday morning, Clayton, then a sergeant, confronted Loyd in the parking lot of a Walmart at Princeton and John Young Parkway. Police say Loyd opened fire, then executed her.

Law enforcement flooded the city for days.

"(It was) one of the most extensive manhunts that we’ve ever had here," Mina said.

An Orange County deputy, Norm Lewis, died in one of three separate law enforcement crashes as the search for Loyd continued.

As the manhunt stretched on for days, the community paid tribute to Lewis and Clayton, who Mina posthumously promoted to lieutenant.

"She had dedicated her law enforcement career in bridging the gap between the community and law enforcement," he said.

On January 17 — more than a week after Clayton’s killing and more than a month after Dixon’s killing — Orlando Police found and captured Loyd, who had been hiding out in an abandoned house in Orlando's Carver Shores neighborhood. Loyd lost an eye in the arrest and claimed police brutality.

In July of this year, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement concluded its investigation into OPD's use of force and ruled the officers' use of force was justified.

"We fully expect to hear about that, but I don’t have any concerns about it," Mina said.

In one of the last major hearings before the trial, on August 23, a judge ruled Loyd competent to stand trial, denied a defense request to postpone the trial, and denied a push by Loyd’s attorneys to combine the trials for the murders of Dixon and Clayton.

Mina said the trials will be difficult for people in the law enforcement community, though he said that’s not the focus.

"Let’s focus on Debra, let’s focus on Norm, let’s focus on Sade Dixon. Stay positive and let justice play out the way it’s supposed to in this country," he said.

Interactive: Major Moments in the Markeith Loyd Investigation

 

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