Trial date set for Markeith Loyd in killing of Orlando police officer

ORLANDO, Fla. - Jury selection in the State of Florida vs. Markeith Loyd in the killing of Orlando Police Officer Debra Clayton is now scheduled to start October 8. 

The judge mentioned she believes that the jury trial will take longer than the trial itself.

This is the first time in months Loyd has been in court. For the first time, he wore glasses and a prosthetic eye. 

His defense attorney is trying to argue that if convicted the jury needs to hear that Loyd lost his eye when he was kicked in the face by law enforcement in 2017, the night he was taken into custody by police. 

Loyd’s defense, in this case, will be insanity and his lawyer says they will argue that he was acting in self-defense and was trying to show that Loyd was afraid of law enforcement. 

Loyd, himself, tried explaining some of that to the judge on Monday. 

"I was trying to turn myself in. I was trying to turn myself in. Walmart never had to happen. I’ll turn myself in if they show me they’re not trying to kill me," Loyd told the judge.

Orlando police say Lt. Debra Clayton was in Walmart when another customer pointed Markeith Loyd out to her. 

At the time, he was wanted in the murder of his pregnant ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon. 

Investigators say when Lt. Clayton approached Loyd outside the store, he pulled out a gun and Lt. Clayton was shot several times. He was then on the run for several days. 

Loyd's attorney told the judge on Monday that Loyd will not be wearing his prosthetic eye during the trial, as they’re trying to show why he was afraid of law enforcement. 

The judge made it clear that Loyd losing his eye the night he was arrested by police is not a mitigating factor since it happened after the killing of Lt. Clayton.