Markeith Loyd’s attorney files motion to dismiss Lt. Debra Clayton murder trial

ORLANDO, Fla. — The attorney representing Markeith Loyd has filed a motion to dismiss the convicted murder’s upcoming second murder trial for the death of Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton.

His attorney, Terence Lenamon, argued that the upcoming trial goes against the doctrine of “collateral estoppel,” which prevents someone from being tried for the same crime twice.

READ: Markeith Loyd trial postponed due to coronavirus

Loyd was scheduled to go to trial in May for the shooting death of Clayton, but the trial has been delayed due to COVID-19. Investigators say he killed her in a Walmart parking lot in 2017 while on the run for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon.

In a motion filed Aug. 13, his attorneys said the evidence related to the Clayton case was used to convict him for Dixon’s murder.

“The State is getting two bites at the very same apple, which is precisely what is intended to be barred by the doctrine of collateral estoppel,” Loyd’s attorneys wrote in the motion.

READ: ‘Nothing can erase the pain’: Community reacts to Markeith Loyd’s sentence

The attorneys argued that the jury in the Dixon trial “indisputably used, relied on, and made ultimate determinations concerning that evidence to support its verdict in the initial trial.”

Loyd was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder in Dixon’s trial.

Video: Orlando police acted unprofessionally when arresting accused cop killer Markeith Loyd, defense says The defense team for accused cop killer Markeith Loyd says Orlando police acted unprofessionally when they arrested their client.

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