Zarghee Mayan, 33, was one of three persons arrested in a matter of days after the shooting of Master Sgt. Clayton, and charged with being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Markeith Loyd’s pregnant ex-girlfriend on December 13, 2016.
Orlando Police Chief John Mina, has made it clear that anyone helping Loyd “will be put behind bars and brought to justice as well.” These arrests may have a chilling effect on the help Loyd has been receiving.
Mayan is the manager at a fried chicken restaurant. Loyd used to work for him. Mayan is accused of helping Loyd with food, transportation and money after Loyd’s girlfriend, Sade Dixon was gunned down at her front door. Police say he knew at the time that Loyd was wanted in connection with the slaying of Sade Dixon,
Mayan reportedly told investigators that Loyd threatened to kill him and forced him to transport him to Dixon’s house. He said no one answered on that occasion.
He admitted giving $200 to Loyd’s niece Lakesha Smith-Loyd (mugshot at right) to give to Loyd, but said that the last time he saw Loyd was two days before the killing of Master Sgt. Debra Clayton. He said Loyd was armed with a gun and and was wearing body armor.
The niece, 27-year-old Lakesha Smith-Loyd was arrested Wednesday for collecting the money. She was misnamed Lakensha Smithloyd when arrested. Authorities say the misspelling of her name may have been intentional.
According to her arrest affidavit she originally cooperated with investigators in the days ater Sade Dixon was killed, but then stopped. She is alleged to have gone to the restaurant and asked Mayan for money to give to Loyd. Bail has been set for Smith-Loyd in the amount of $750,000.
Jameis Slaughter (in mugshot at left) was also arrested Wednesday. She is an ex-girlfriend of Markeith Loyd, accused of being an accessory after the fact. Bail was set for her in the amount of $500.000.
Daily News reported on a Facebook Live video from November that shooting of Loyd and his ex, Sade Dixon, were joking at a traffic stop, where Dixon was telling Loyd to “go ahead and kill” the officer who pulled them over. It’s not clear why the officer stopped them.
About a month later, Dixon herself was murdered. Authorities say Loyd is responsible. Loyd posted on Facebook that his number one goal in life was to make America’s Most Wanted. According to police, he took a major step in that direction with the killing of Master Sgt. Clayton.
According to Chief Mina, federal, state and local authorities were all taking part in the manhunt. He refused to give details about how the search is being coordinated, but said law enforcement agencies are all on alert.
“There are many things going on behind the scenes that our community is not aware of and that we are not at liberty to discuss,” Mina said.
After Clayton was shot, many of her colleagues immediately joined the pursuit; among them was a sheriff’s Deputy First Class Norman Lewis, who died when he was thrown from his motorcycle in an accident.
