Monday, April 4, 2016, will mark the beginning of jury selection for the trial for the murder of Zacharias McClendon,a first-year MBA student at University of Mississippi who was shot on December 17, 2013 in Oxford, Mississippi.
The trial will soon take place at the Lafayette County Courthouse. The Circuit Court Clerk, Baretta Mosley, said that the jury selection begins Monday and will most likely last until Tuesday, leaving the actual trial to start on Wednesday.
The defendant on trial for the murder of McClendon is Derick Boone of Laurel, Mississippi. Boone is charged with capital murder where he faces either the death penalty or life imprisonment. he is also charged with grand larceny.
After the alleged murder, the defendant with two co-defendants Steven Wilbanks and Joseph Lyons allegedly stole McClendon’s car and three college textbooks.
Boone is to be prosecuted first. Court documents revealed that Boone motioned to bar the state from seeking the death penalty.
Boone was allegedly in the living room when the murder took place.
“Derick was pacing back and forth in the living room. His back was turned when I shot (him),” Wilbanks said in a confession to officers.
Lyons also stated that Boone was “…quiet on the couch.”
Court documents show that McClendon was shot in the head with a Stevens 16-gauge shotgun. He was later found by local authorities. The McClendon’s death is likely a result of a robbery gone wrong.
The duration of the trial is not definite. Defendant attorneys Thomas C. Levidiotis as well as Leroy Davis Percy are the attorneys in Boone’s defense.
Mia Sims is a HottyToddy.com intern. She can be reached at masims@go.olemiss.edu.
Emily Newton is the Experience Oxford editor and can be reached at emily.newton@hottytoddy.com. Callie Daniels Bryant is the senior managing editor at HottyToddy.com and can be reached at callie.daniels@hottytoddy.com.
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