ORLANDO, Fla. — Markeith Loyd is facing two separate murder trials: one for the death of ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon, and one for the death of Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton.

His attorneys want evidence and witnesses tied to those two trials kept separate.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors argued the issue before a judge Wednesday in Orlando.

Loyd is accused of murdering Dixon in December 2016. Prosecutors say that, while on the run for that crime, he shot and killed Clayton in January 2017.

Witnesses took the stand in relation to both cases, including lead investigators and two witnesses who say they saw Loyd and Clayton at an Orlando Walmart where Clayton was slain.

Prosecutors told the judge that video and witness evidence about his alleged killing of Clayton was important to proving Loyd's motives. 

"I (saw) an officer and another gentleman face-to-face, and I saw the gentleman trying to get around the officer, then I started hearing the shooting," said one witness.

They also showed video from surveillance cameras showing the moment Loyd allegedly continued to shoot Clayton after she had fallen.

Although prosecutors say the testimony and evidence helps prove Loyd's guilt in Dixon's killing because of his efforts to get away from law enforcement, his defense attorneys claim it has nothing to do with that case and will only taint the jury.

Judge Leticia Marques agreed with Loyd’s defense attorneys on one point and ruled the video of Clayton being shot will not be let into Dixon's trial.

But she’s still deciding whether to allow the witness testimony and other evidence, like the shell casings from the scene, in the Dixon trial.

Loyd is expected to go to trial in the murder of Clayton in May 2020.

The trial for Dixon's murder is expected to take place this September.