White homeowner pleads NOT GUILTY to two felony assault charges
Retired white aircraft technician, 84, pleads NOT GUILTY to two felony assault charges after shooting black teen Ralph Yarl, 16, in the head when he mistakenly knocked on his door
- Andrew Lester pleaded not guilty to one charge of first-degree assault and one of armed criminal action
- Lawyers for Ralph said outside of court that the Department of Justice is investigating the shooting as a hate crime
- The talented musician was released from hospital on Sunday, and has now been pictured for the first time since the shooting
A white homeowner has pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of assault in connection with the shooting of Ralph Yarl.
Clutching a walking stick, Andrew Lester, 84, entered his pleas during a three-minute appearance at Clay County Courthouse on Wednesday.
He is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, with his next appearance set for June 1.
Lawyers for Ralph, 16, said outside of court that the Department of Justice is investigating the shooting as a hate crime. His family did not attend the hearing.
Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, who is representing the teen, told reporters: ‘We thought that this was something the DOJ should be looking into.
Andrew Lester, 84, pleaded not guilty at a first appearance at Clay County Courthouse on Wednesday
‘They are (looking into it). It’s under investigation, they’ve received our complaint and are now looking into it.
‘I want him to spend the rest of his life in prison. All of his assets are going to become Ralph’s.’
During the hearing Judge Angles added several conditions to Lester’s bond, banning him from contacting Ralph or his family or from leaving the state of Missouri without permission.
He was also forced to surrender his passport and concealed carry permit, as well as being banned from possessing any weapons.
Meanwhile, Merritt posted a picture of Ralph looking relaxed and smiling as he was seen for the first time since being released from hospital.
Merritt posted the picture on his Twitter, saying: ‘Ralph Yarl is home and recovering!
‘How the bullet in his head didn’t cause more extensive damage is truly a miracle. To God be the glory!’
Ralph approached a property in Kansas City, Missouri, thinking he was collecting his two younger brothers but was shot and rushed to hospital in critical condition.
Lawyers for Ralph, 16, said outside of court that the Department of Justice is investigating the shooting as a hate crime. His family did not attend the hearing
Lester is facing life in jail after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in relation to the shooting which saw Ralph Yarl rushed to hospital
During the hearing Judge Angles added several conditions to Lester’s bond, banning him from owning a weapon
Pictured: The home of Andrew Lester, the 84-year-old white homeowner accused of shooting Black teen Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri
Andrew Lester, 84, told Kansas City Police Department that shooting Ralph Yarl, 16, was the ‘last thing he wanted to do’ but was terrified of the teenager because of his size and age
Lester handed himself in on Tuesday after Clay County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that he would be charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action – which could see him face the rest of his life behind bars.
He was released from Clay County Detention Center after paying 10 percent of the $200,000 bail.
His grandson said the shooting should ‘never have happened’ and explained that mistaking the properties is ‘easy to do’ because they all look the same.
Daniel Ludwig said: ‘I’d go to visit my grandpa, and I would get lost on those streets. It’s just crazy. I wish it didn’t happen.’
His comments come as the GoFundMe page for gifted scholar Yarl, 16, surges past $3.2million.
Lester shot twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and claims that no words were exchanged
On Thursday night, Yarl was shot twice through the door of Lester’s home, which is just a block away from the property where his younger twin brothers were waiting to be picked up.
The suspect was first arrested and released hours after the shooting on April 14, when he told police that he was ‘scared to death’ after seeing Yarl standing at his front door.
Zachary Thompson, Clay County prosecutor said: ‘As the prosecutor for Clay County, I can tell you that there was a racial component to the case… I don’t want to comment on specifics of the case to protect its integrity.’
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves also acknowledged the ‘racial components’ at play in the case.
Lester shot twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and claims that no words were exchanged
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said that Yarl was ‘shot because he was existing while black’.
He told CNN that he ‘shared the outrage’ of residents in Kansas City over the lack of action.
Lucas said: ‘To pretend that race is not a part of this whole situation would be to have your head in the sand.
The 16-year-old looked relaxed and smiled with his lawyer Lee Merritt on Wednesday, ahead of Andrew Lester, 84, appearing in court for the first time
The house in Kansas City, Missouri had a ‘no solicitors’ sign on top of the doorbell which Ralph mistakenly rang
President Joe Biden rang the Yarl family on Monday, and invited them to the White House when the teenager is well enough
‘This boy was shot because he was existing while black. And he knocked on the door of someone who clearly, clearly fears black people.
‘Black boys, black children, and I think that is clear as day and so I hope that is not mistaken or forgotten the reason why many black people and black parents – myself included – are concerned is because if one day it’s ringing on the doorbell, they can get you shot. Then what else is next?’
He added: ‘This is normal existence in life, and somebody came to a door and shot through a door. Not once but twice. That’s what is horrifying.
‘That’s why I think I’m glad to see this first step towards justice and why we all need to investigate how we handle this and how we can do better in the future.’
Lester, who had a mechanical FAA license registered to Arizona, had been free on the opinion of the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office as investigations continued.
Kansas City Police Department on Monday submitted a file to the Prosecutor’s Office, which issued a warrant for Lester’s arrest that evening.
Yarl was shot in the head and the arm on April 13 after mistakenly ringing the doorbell at the Missouri property where he thought he was meant to pick up his younger twin brothers.
Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot twice in the head by a white man after he approached the wrong house by mistake when going to collect his siblings
Yarl, center, was said to be trying to pick up his younger siblings from a friend’s house but went to the wrong address
In a probable cause affidavit, Lester told KCPD that shooting Yarl was the ‘last thing he wanted to do’ but was terrified of the teenager because of his size and age.
The document also revealed that cops discovered a Smith and Wesson .32 caliber revolver with two spent shell casings still in the cylinder after officers arrived at the scene.
Police say Yarl was shot after he knocked on the door, with Lester telling officers he saw him ‘pulling on the door handle’ – something which the teenager denies.
Yarl also told authorities that Lester told him ‘don’t come around here’ after being shot in the head and the arm through the glass at the front of the house.
Lester shot twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and claims that no words were exchanged.
The document revealed that he was shot in the left forehead, and right arm, with a neighbor telling cops they thought it was ‘odd’ for their ‘elderly neighbor to have a visitor this late at night’.
A witness added that they heard ‘two or three gunshots’ from Lester’s home, and heard Yarl screaming that he had been shot.
Lester told officers that he felt he was ‘protecting himself’ at the property where he says he lives alone.
He also claimed that he called 911 after the shooting, claiming that Yarl ‘ran away’ after the incident.
Yarl was shot in the head and the arm on April 13 after mistakenly ringing the doorbell at the Missouri property where he thought he was meant to pick up his younger twin brothers
The statement shows that he was ‘visibly upset’ and ‘repeatedly expressed concern’ for Yarl during the interview.
He said he ‘believed he was protecting himself from a physical confrontation and could not take the chance of the male coming in’.
Yarl told officers that he pressed the doorbell and waited outside of the door, adding that the man inside ‘took a long time but finally opened the door holding a firearm’.
Officers took a hard drive from Lester’s home to preserve video, but the video system was ‘no longer functional’.
Lester’s home had signs warning trespassers and unwelcomed visitors, though it is unclear if Yarl saw any of them before approaching the property.
The doorbell had a small ‘no solicitors’ sign on top while another sign claimed the property was ‘protected by surveillance cameras’.
Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced the two felony charges on Monday, and confirmed that there was a ‘racial component’ to the case, but would not elaborate further.
Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the family, added that Yarl’s legal team was not aware of what the ‘racial element’ of the case was which was announced by Clay County Prosecutors office on Monday night.
He said: ‘It’s a white shooter and a black boy. The man in his 80s went home and slept in his bed that night. But I’m not sure what the prosecutor was referring to exactly.’
Yarl’s mother told CBS News that her son was waiting for a hug from his twin brothers but instead ‘got a couple of bullets’.
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