Charges have been filed against the Kansas City man who shot a Black teenage boy who mistakenly rang his doorbell.
85-year-old Andrew D. Lester has been charged with a Class A felony assault in the first degree and armed criminal action. When Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson read Lester’s charges, he said that the first count has a range of punishment of ten to 30 years in prison, while the second count is three to 15 years.
The victim, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot twice when he went up to the wrong house while trying to pick up his younger twin brothers. KMBZ’s Sam Stueve reports that on the night of the shooting, Lester had reportedly just gotten into bed, but upon hearing the doorbell he got back up and grabbed his 32 Smith and Wesson revolver.
Stueve reports that according to the probable cause statement, Lester shot Yarl through the window of his glass storm door. He hit Yarl once on the side of the forehead and then shot him again in the arm after he had already fallen down.
Lester reportedly claims that Yarl was grabbing at the door handle, and that he feared a physical confrontation. Yarl denies that he pulled at the door handle.
The prosecutor in the case said there was a racial component.
According to an update on Yarl's GoFundMe, the teen is home and able to walk and communicate; his family calls it a 'miracle.'
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