A Missouri judge has ruled that a white man, 84, will stand trial for assault after he shot a black teen who accidentally knocked on the wrong door while picking up his brothers.
Ralph Yarl, 17, was shot in the head and arm on April 13 after going to the wrong address in Kansas City, Missouri. He accidentally went to Northeast 115th Street instead of Northeast 115th Terrace – one block apart.
Andrew Lester, the homeowner who shot him with a revolver, will now face trial.
The retired aircraft mechanic faces charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action — and he previously pleaded not guilty to the shooting of high school student Yarl.
Clay County Judge Louis Angles has ruled that a trial should proceed after hearing multiple witnesses at a preliminary hearing this week.
Andrew Lester, 84, surrendered to the Clay County Detention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, in April. He’s going to stand trial now, it’s decided
Ralph Yarl, 17, was shot in the head and arm on April 13 after going to the wrong address in Kansas City, Missouri. He accidentally went to Northeast 115th Street instead of Northeast 115th Terrace – one block apart
Lester was arrested and held on $200,000 bond. He obtained 10 percent and was released at the end of April.
In June, Yarl spoke for the first time since being attacked on the front porch.
Recalling moments before he was shot by the homeowner, Yarl told Good Morning America, “I’m going up the driveway, I’m going up the stairs, I’m ringing the doorbell.
“I didn’t know their family at all, so I think this is their home.
“I actually waited a long time. I hear the door open. I see an old man, and I assume it must be their grandfather, and then he draws his gun.
“I’m like woah, so I back off. He points it at me, so I brace myself and turn my head.
“Before that, I think: It’s impossible that he’s actually going to shoot, the doors will even open, he’s going to shoot through his door and the glass will end up everywhere.
And it happened. I lie on the floor, I fall on the glass, the broken glass. Before I know it, I run away and shout: help me, help me.
“I was bleeding from my head.
I thought: how is this possible.’
“He only said five words: ‘Don’t ever come here again.'”
Nearly six months after the ordeal, the budding musician and schoolboy has made a full physical recovery, but said there is still mental tension after the shooting.
Ralph, center, was going to try to pick up his younger siblings from a friend’s house, but went to the wrong address
Ralph was shot in the head and arm on April 13 after accidentally ringing the doorbell at the Missouri estate where he believed he was supposed to pick up his younger twin brothers.
The teen, who took his exams when he was only eighth grade, now struggles with everyday tasks that would normally be easy for him.
He said, “A lot of things are happening in my head that are not normal. I have headaches, trouble sleeping, and sometimes my mind is just foggy. I can’t concentrate on things that are easy to do.
‘I’m just a child. I will continue to do all the things that make me happy and just live my life the best I can and not let this bother me.
“Justice is the rule, the law, regardless of race, ethnicity and age. He should be convicted for the crimes he committed. I no longer have any personal hatred for him.
“He should suffer the consequences, because that’s what our society is made of: trust in each other and the reassurance that we can coexist in harmony.”
During the April 13 ordeal, the teen approached the door but did not “cross the threshold” to enter the home, prosecutors said.
Lester allegedly opened the door and fired two .32-caliber bullets from a revolver that struck Yarl in the forehead and arm.
Prosecutors previously said there was no evidence that words had been exchanged.
Lester told a police officer after the shooting that he saw a black man “pulling the outside door handle,” and that he believed the person was trying to break in.
During an interview with Detective Yarl, he said that he only rang the doorbell and did not pull the door.
Lester shot twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and claims no words were exchanged
Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson confirmed there was a racial factor in the attack — after the teenage music scholar was shot twice, in the head and arm, after ringing the wrong doorbell when he went to pick up his younger brothers.
“I can tell you there was a racist component to the case,” Thompson said.
Ralph was known among his peers for his intellect and for being a “musical genius.”
The teen had received a letter from the Yale Undergraduate Admissions Board identifying him as a “good candidate” for the prestigious university.
Ralph is a member of the Technology Student Association and his high school’s Science Olympia Team, plays in the marching, jazz, and competition bands, and is one of the top bass clarinetists in Missouri.
He had big dreams of going to college after being recognized as an alumni of the Missouri Scholar Academy in 2022.
Ralph’s lawyers specialize in civil rights and previously represented the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Cameron Lamb.