This story was last updated on: 11:27 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017

Markeith Loyd is in custody, police announced Tuesday night, ending a massive nine-day manhunt for the man accused in the slaying of Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton.

Loyd was captured at about 7 p.m. on the 1100 block of Lescot Lane in the Carver Shores neighborhood — an abandoned home right around the corner from Clayton's mother's house, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said, surrounded by Central Florida leaders and law enforcement officers during a news conference Tuesday night.

Loyd was wearing body armor and carried two handguns — one with a 100-round magazine — when he was taken into custody, Mina said.

Loyd resisted arrest, which resulted in facial injuries, the police chief said. Loyd was handcuffed using Clayton's handcuffs, per law enforcement tradition, and taken to Orlando Police headquarters, where was assessed for a beaten, bloody face.

"The injuries look minor to me," Mina said.

 

Mina declined to say how Loyd was found but said it was not through one of the 1,400 tips that came into Crimeline in the nine days Loyd was being sought.

Instead, he commended the "great police work" of the hundreds of officers involved in the manhunt, which included not only Orlando Police but officers from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Loyd was "captured by great police work. These men and women were working nonstop for nine days. ... They did everything they could for the Dixon family and the Clayton family."

Loyd was also sought in connection with the December slaying of his ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon. Clayton was attempting to make contact with Loyd at an Orlando Wal-Mart on Jan. 9 when she was fatally shot.

"He is responsible for the death of his former girlfriend and her unborn child," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.

"I believe our entire community is going to breathe a sigh of relief and will sleep better tonight knowing this maniac is off the streets," he said.

The Sheriff's Office will serve an arrest warrant tonight, Demings said. He'll be charged with several offenses stemming from Dixon's Dec. 13 fatal shooting, including two counts of first-degree homicide, one count of attempted first-degree homicide and two counts of aggravated assault, Demings said. Dixon's brother, Ronald Stewart, was also shot that night and critically injured.

"It's a relief. It's a burden off our family," said Dixon's parents, Stephanie Dixon-Daniels and Ron Daniels. "We don't have to worry if this guy is going to show back up."

The family says it will return to the home along Long Peak Drive now that Loyd is caught. They also say Sade's surviving children are doing well.

Added District 5 Commissioner Regina Hill: "I'm forever grateful that this cold-blooded killer is going to be brought to justice."

US Marshals' 15 most wanted

Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Marshals Service had put Loyd on its 15 most wanted list and added $25,000 to the reward for information leading to his arrest.

Police said Loyd may have changed his appearance and released a fuller physical description of the man wanted in connection with the slaying of Lt. Debra Clayton: Loyd is between 6 foot and 6-foot-3 inches and between 180 and 200 pounds. He has a raised scar on his left hand and may have shaved his head.

Police and Crimeline were offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Loyd, the largest reward in Crimeline history. The Marshals Service brought that up to $125,000.

"We are never going to give up on the search for Markeith Loyd," Police Chief John Mina said on the ninth day of the manhunt.

About 1,400 tips came into Crimeline.

"We just need that right piece of information to bring it all together, to bring him into custody," Mina said.

Man denies helping Loyd

Zarghee Mayan, the first of three people accused of helping Loyd, was arrested and charged for giving "inconsistent statements" about seeing Loyd and giving him money.

Lyle Mazin, Mayan's attorney, said Mayan was never trying to help Loyd elude or escape capture. Mazin said his client is entitled to a reasonable bond of less than $10,000 and will ask for that at a Wednesday hearing.

"We're talking about locking up a man because an armed person in a tactical vest and a gun asked him to give him money that he owed and then he didn't charge him for chicken," Mazin said. "And that's why he's charged with this case."

When asked whether the situation was that simple, Mazin replied: "That's the sad part, it's that simple."

Mayan's bond hearing will take place Wednesday at the Orange County Courthouse.