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Murder suspect Markeith Loyd gets public defender, waives right to speedy trial

ORLANDO, Fla. — Murder suspect Markeith Loyd appeared in court Wednesday morning for a status hearing.

Loyd is accused of fatally shooting his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, in December and Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton in January.

Chief Judge Frederick Lauten denied Loyd's request to be represented by Terence Lenamon, a Miami-based attorney whom Loyd said he trusted.

Loyd leaped out of his chair and shouted, "I'm done." Deputies immediately restrained him.

Watch Wednesday's full hearing below:

Roger Weeden, the court-appointed standby counsel, asked Lauten again if he could represent Loyd. He told the judge he thinks the law would allow for Lenamon to join Loyd's legal team at trial.

But Lauten warned Loyd he won't make any promises.

"If you accept Mr. Weeden as your attorney, it's not conditioned on, 'Will I get Mr. Lenamon at the same time?' Because I might grant that, or I might deny that," he said. "I want to be absolutely clear about that."

But Lauten left the door open for the possibility.

"But if you want counsel -- and I think you need counsel, and I've said every time I want you to have counsel -- and you want Mr. Weeden," he said. "I'm going to appoint him, and then I'll go from there."

Loyd agreed to be represented by Weeden, and he chose to waive his right to a speedy trial.

The hearing came a day after State Attorney Aramis Ayala filed a lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott in federal court.

Ayala asked a federal judge to hold off on examining her case while she battles Scott in the Florida Supreme Court.

Scott removed Ayala from Loyd’s case after she said she wouldn’t pursue the death penalty in Loyd’s case or any others during her tenure.

Scott appointed State Attorney Brad King to prosecute Loyd’s case instead, putting the death penalty back on the table.

The governor said he’s considering giving even more cases to King, to whom he already reassigned a number of murder cases Ayala was prosecuting.

“I’m going to think about the victim and the victim’s family,” Scott said. “I do want to thank Brad King for his willingness to take on this responsibility, to do the job that all citizens expect (a) state attorney to do, and that is prosecute individuals to the full extent of the law.”