Capital murder trial set in slaying of Ole Miss student from Gulfport

OXFORD -- One of three men accused in the capital murder of an Ole Miss graduate student from Gulfport is set for trial the first week in April.

Derrick Boone, 25, of Laurel, is the first to stand trial in the December 2013 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Zach McClendon, according to the Oxford Eagle.

Jury selection begins April 4 in Lafayette County Circuit Court.

Also charged with capital murder are Steven Wilbanks, 24, of Burnsville, N.C., and Joseph Lyons, 22, of Houston, Texas.

McClendon was a 2006 Gulfport High graduate and honor student who wanted to work in the medical profession.

He was found dead in his duplex apartment on Dec. 18, 2013. Officials have said he died of a gunshot wound to the head.

A sheriff's investigator has said the three robbed McClendon, shot him and stole his car.

His car was later found parked at a gas station. Surveillance footage allegedly linked the three men to his car and the killing.

Authorities have said McLendon was neighbors of the three men. At least two of them were Ole Miss students.

McClendon had obtained undergraduate degrees from Williams College in Massachusetts and Mississippi College.

Relatives have said he was pursuing a Master of Business Administration to understand the business side of medicine so he could do more to help the less fortunate.

He had been accepted to study at the University of Mississippi Medical School in Jackson, according to his family.

As mourners from across the state gathered for his funeral, his eighth-grade teacher, Georgia Anne Faneca, told the Sun Herald that McClendon enjoyed the challenge of learning.

"Although he was enjoying football, he was really more interested in the learning," Faneca said.

His father, Percy McClendon, described him as "a giving child who would help anyone."

Bishop Bill Ray Jackson added laughter to the emotional funeral service as he addressed mourners.

"He already knew how to operate on folks because he touched every one of us," Jackson said. "Every one of us."

Patrick Ochs, Sun Herald sports writer, contributed to this report.

This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Capital murder trial set in slaying of Ole Miss student from Gulfport ."