ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Newly released records of wiretaps conducted as the manhunt for accused double murderer Markeith Loyd was underway show he considered letting his ex-girlfriend's family turn him into police so they could collect reward money.
One of the two phone conversations detailing Loyd's consideration of the idea that he would let the family of his pregnant ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon, whom he's accused of killing, collect money for his capture took place at 6:26 p.m. Jan. 17, just more than a half-hour before he was taken into custody at an abandoned home in Orange County, according to documents.
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"I was thinking about (expletive), of letting Sade people turning me in so they could get the reward for the kids," Loyd said to a friend over the phone.
In the same call, detectives said Loyd could be heard talking to another unidentified man about his plan to contact Dixon's family so they could turn him in and get the money. Authorities said Loyd also talked to that man about how he was being framed for Dixon's murder and that he'd rather die than go back to jail.
Loyd, who had been on the run since Dixon's Dec. 13 shooting death, was also wanted in the Jan. 9 fatal shooting of Orlando Police Department Lt. Debra Clayton.
Clayton's death was not mentioned during that conversation, but the arrests of one of Loyd's ex-girlfriends and his niece, who were believed to have been helping hide him from authorities, was discussed. Charges against them were later dropped.
Loyd told the unidentified man he wasn't getting help or he wouldn't have been at Walmart trying to buy his own food, the report said.
Clayton was gunned down outside the Walmart at 3101 W. Princeton St. after someone noticed Loyd, who was already wanted in connection with Dixon's death, inside the store.
In a separate phone call to his half-brother made 14 minutes before his capture, records show Loyd again brought up his idea to let Dixon's family collect the money.
"And um I'm gonna say, damn 'cause if I do, nah, I'm gonna get away, I really don't want to live in that (expletive), but I would think about doing it and getting the money to Sade's kids," the transcription of the call said.
Detectives said other records revealed the phones used by Loyd were purchased by the brother of one of his friends.
When asked about the two phones and calling cards that were bought at the same time, the man first said he bought them for himself, according to the report. The man then said one of the phones was stolen before later claiming he bought them for an unknown man in a "gambling house," detectives said.
After telling what detectives called "obvious lies" about the phones, authorities said the man denied having any connection to Loyd and that he was his brother's friend.
Other records shed some light on where Loyd was between the time of Dixon's death and his January arrest.
According to authorities, cellphone towers show Loyd spent time in the areas of Carver Shores and South Apopka.
It was also determined, due to evidence collected from inside his vehicle police said he left behind after Clayton's shooting death at Walmart, that he had been living in his car for some time.
The wiretapped calls and cellphone records were some of several approved by a judge as the manhunt for Loyd was underway. Their findings were used by investigators to determine whether anyone else helped Loyd avoid capture. After his arrest, all monitored and intercepted lines were terminated, according to the report.
No other arrests were made following the investigation, which ended earlier this year, officials said.
"Following this investigation, it could not be determined who might have provided Loyd with transportation or assistance following the murder of Sgt. Debra Clayton," the report read.
Loyd was originally scheduled to go to trial in September on charges in connection with Dixon's death. That was to be followed by the murder trial in the death of Clayton.
Loyd's first trial was rescheduled for May 2019, but a date was not set for his second trial.