Man to plead guilty to 2023 shooting of Black teen Ralph Yarl, 2 people familiar with case tell AP

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An 86-year-old Kansas City man will plead guilty Friday to the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the man’s doorbell by mistake, two people familiar with the case told The Associated Press.

Andrew Lester was scheduled to stand trial next week on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the then 16-year-old, who survived and has since graduated from high school.

Prosecutors said Thursday that Lester would appear in court the next day, but they did not say why or provide additional detail. Two people familiar with the case who requested anonymity to speak in advance of Friday’s hearing told AP that Lester will plead guilty. One of those people said he will plead to a lesser charge of second-degree assault.

Yarl showed up on Lester’s doorstep after he mixed up the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin siblings.

Lester’s attorney, Steve Salmon, has long argued that Lester was acting in self-defense and that he was terrified by the stranger who knocked on his door as he settled into bed for the night. He did not immediately respond to a phone message from The Associated Press on Thursday.

The shooting shocked the country and renewed national debate about gun policies and race in the U.S.

Yarl testified at an earlier hearing that he rang the bell and then waited for someone to answer for what seemed “longer than normal.” As the inner door opened, Yarl said, he reached out to grab the storm door.

“I assume these are my brothers’ friends’ parents,” he said.

He said Lester, who is white, shot him in the head and uttered, “Don’t come here ever again.” Although the bullet didn’t penetrate Yarl’s brain, the impact knocked him to the ground. Yarl said Lester then shot him in the arm. The teen was taken to the hospital and released three days later.

His family said the shooting took a big emotional toll and they have filed a lawsuit against the retired aircraft mechanic.

As Lester’s trial date approached, the court shut down access to online records in the case, so prospective jurors could not see or read any of the documents available to the public. A spokesperson in the prosecutor’s office said there have been no new filings in the case this month.

Salmon said last year that Lester’s physical and mental condition had deteriorated. He said Lester has had heart issues, a broken hip and hospitalizations. Lester also has lost 50 pounds (23 kilograms), which Salmon blamed on the stress of intense media coverage and death threats he subsequently received.

A judge had previously ordered a mental evaluation of Lester but allowed for the trial to proceed after its completion. The results of that evaluation were not released publicly.

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Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas.