An 86-year-old Kansas City man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who was then 16 and rang the man’s doorbell by mistake.
Andrew Lester’s plea on Friday came days before he was supposed to stand trial on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the teenaged student. Lester pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as part of a deal with prosecutors that averted the trial.
The charge to which Lester admitted carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison. First-degree assault, meanwhile, carries a sentence of 15 to 30 years, depending on the circumstances.
Yarl showed up on Lester’s doorstep in April 2023 after he mixed up the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin siblings. Investigators allege that Lester then shot Yarl twice through the house’s front glass door with a .32-caliber revolver.
The wounded Yarl sought help at multiple homes before someone opened the door and agreed to call police. Neighbors found him lying injured in the street with two gunshot wounds to the head and arm.
Lester, a retired aircraft mechanic, maintained he was acting in self-defense as well as out of a reasonable fear for his safety, and he initially entered a plea of not guilty. On Friday, his sentencing was set for 7 March.
The shooting received widespread attention and further ignited discussions about racism and gun violence in the US. Missouri is a “stand your ground” state where people are permitted to use deadly force if they have reasonable belief they are at risk of a violent attack.
Although the bullet reportedly did not enter his brain, Yarl had to undergo neurological surgery after the injuries to his head that were inflicted by Lester.
He has since spoken about the lingering effects, saying his “mind is just foggy” and that he “can’t concentrate” on the things that would have otherwise been easy for him.
Yarl’s family filed a lawsuit against Lester seeking civil damages after the shooting. Lester reportedly settled the litigation out of court for $100,000.
