Suspect in officer's slaying wore body armor

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Authorities say they believe the suspect who is the focus of a four-day manhunt was wearing a bulletproof vest when he shot an Orlando police sergeant.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina said Thursday that searchers found clothing belonging to 41-year-old Markeith Loyd and that led them to believe he was wearing a bulletproof vest when he fatally shot Master Sgt. Debra Clayton on Monday.

Mina says the sergeant apparently hit Loyd with return fire, but that the vest protected him. He also says Loyd shot Clayton repeatedly, even when she was on the ground.

Mina says hundreds of deputies and officers have searched almost 100 places since Monday, and they've received more than 750 tips.

He says the searches have been lower-profile compared to Monday's search of an Orlando apartment complex when officers went door-to-door.

Authorities are making good on promises to go after people they think helped Loyd in the weeks before he was wanted in the fatal shooting of Officer Clayton.

Markeith Loyd's niece, Lakensha Smith-Loyd, was arrested Wednesday on an accessory charge. Later the same day, authorities arrested an ex-girlfriend of Loyd's: Jameis Slaughter, who also faces an accessory charge.

And a day earlier, Zarghee Mayan, the fugitive's supervisor at a fried chicken restaurant, was arrested on the same charge.

Smith-Loyd is accused of collecting money from Mayan to give to her uncle as deputies searched for him in the days after the slaying of another ex-girlfriend in mid-December.

Anyone with information that leads to Markeith Loyd's arrest could be eligible to receive a $100,000 reward.  Call 911 or Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477).