Sentencing phase resumes Tuesday morning for Markeith Loyd

Jury to decide life or death for Markeith Loyd

A jury is deliberating whether to recommend life or death for Markeith Loyd.

ORLANDO, Fla. - State prosecutors started presenting their witnesses on Monday before a jury will ultimately decide if Markeith Loyd should be sentenced to death or life in prison for the murder of Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton.  

One of their first witnesses was former Orlando Police Officer Todd Herb.  

He told the jury about the day in 1998 when he pulled Markeith Loyd over for speeding and not having a readable license plate.  

He said Loyd got out of his car, started walking away, then told the officer he was not driving.  

And when the officer then tried to arrest Loyd, he did not comply.  

"When I grabbed his right wrist, he immediately swung with his left fist and punched me on the side of my face," Herb testified. "He just kept swinging and then the fight was on."  

Loyd spent four years in prison for assaulting Officer Herb.

Prosecutors seemingly tried to show Loyd’s propensity for violence toward law enforcement.  

Theofolus Edward was sitting in his truck when he witnessed Loyd shoot Lt. Clayton.  

"He was walking in front of her, and all of a sudden he turned around and shot her," Edward said.  

He testified his truck was struck by a bullet.  

"He shot her at least three times," Edward said.   

Stephanie Dixon Daniels also took the stand.  She’s the mother of Sade Dixon. 

Loyd was on the run after killing Sade when he shot and killed Lt. Clayton. 

Dixon-Daniels recalled the horror she walked out to see in front of her home the day Sade was killed and her oldest son was shot several times by Loyd.  

"I saw blood coming from her chest and her arms.  I saw blood coming out of my son’s back," Dixon-Daniels testified. "After I yelled, ‘my babies, my babies,’ I saw him raise his arm with the gun… My (younger) son pulled me in the door."

The jury also started hearing victim impact statements.   

Three women took the stand in tears reading their pre-written thoughts.  

Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill said Lt. Clayton was always serving others. 

"Debra would personally prepare and deliver meals to older people and single parents in the community," Commissioner Hill said.  "She wasn’t doing it for accolades, she did it because she cared about people."  

She also said she misses her friend every day. 

"Hearing her name brings a smile to my face. It also brings me so much grief," Commissioner Hill told the jury.

Loyd's sentencing phase resumes Tuesday at 9 a.m.