ORLANDO, Fla. _ A judge found accused killer Markeith Loyd competent to stand trial at a Friday hearing a week after his defense attorneys asked their client to be evaluated because Loyd exhibited "signs of paranoia and delusional thinking," court records show.
Loyd, 43, faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the 2016 slaying of his pregnant ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon and 2017 killing of Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton.
Circuit Judge Leticia Marques also denied a request from Loyd's attorneys to combine the two trials. His lawyers argued their client would have to defend himself against Clayton's murder twice because Marques ruled jurors in the Dixon trial could learn the same gun was used in both shootings.
"I will have to defend the entire police shooting, and it doesn't make sense to do it twice," Loyd's lawyer Terence M. Lenamon told Marques before she denied his request. "That isn't fair."
Marques said an expert appointed to examine Loyd found him competent. At Loyd's last hearing at the Orange County Courthouse, he had repeated outbursts and tried to address Dixon's family in the gallery. When his lawyers spoke to the judge about finding a doctor for the evaluation, Loyd said, "I ain't talking to nobody. I ain't crazy."
"The statements (Loyd) made last Tuesday indicate he was aware of where he was, who the parties in the courtroom were," Marques said at Friday's hearing. "He gave his version, albeit a truncated one, of what happened the day of the shooting. Based on independent assessment and the report, he's competent to proceed."
When Marques asked Loyd if he wanted to consolidate his trials, the accused killer disagreed with his attorney.
"The second case has nothing to do with the first case," Loyd said. "We have evidence I tried to turn myself in on three separate occasions."
Marques ruled on keeping the trials separate because if Loyd is convicted, the jury could have a hard time ignoring Clayton's killing when they consider the death penalty for Dixon's murder.
"It is (Loyd's) life in this matter, so I am taking his wishes into account," the judge said.
Loyd is scheduled to stand trial for Dixon's killing Sept. 27. He's being held at the Orange County jail without bail.
