An elderly Kansas City man accused of shooting a teen on his front porch last week after the minor rang his doorbell pleaded not guilty to two felony charges on Wednesday.
Andrew Lester, 84, appeared in court for his arraignment on first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He posted a $200,000 bond on Tuesday after turning himself in to police.
Yarl, the 16-year-old victim, was shot once in the head and once in the arm last Thursday evening after he accidentally went to the wrong home while trying to pick up his two younger brothers. He meant to go to 115th Terrace, but went to Lester’s residence at 115th Street instead.
Lester told police that he had just gone to bed when he heard the doorbell ring, so he picked up his revolver and went to the front door, where he saw Yarl pulling on the exterior storm door handle, according to a probable cause statement.
THREE KANSAS CITY POLICE OFFICERS WOUNDED IN SHOOTING DURING UNDERCOVER FENTANYL INVESTIGATION
The 84-year-old man, who lives alone, told officers he was “scared to death” and fired twice. Yarl disputes that he pulled on the storm door handle and said he was shot in the arm after falling to the ground. He picked himself up and ran away as Lester yelled, “Don’t come around here,” according to the statement.
Yarl was released from a hospital on Sunday. His aunt wrote in an update on GoFundMe that the teen is able to move around and talk.
“He has a long road ahead,” Yarl’s aunt wrote. “However, we are very thankful that he is still here with us. I’ve been taking the time to read the emails and comments to Ralph. It warms our hearts to see him smile at all the kind words.”
Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said Monday that “there was a racial component” to the shooting, but declined to elaborate. Lester is White, while Yarl is Black.
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Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said that members of the community are heartbroken and angered over the shooting.
“I have talked to any number of responsible gun owners. This is something that you just cannot do – shooting through your two locked doors, a locked screen door, and an additional door of defense for yourself,” Lucas told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday.
“To shoot, and to shoot twice, seems to reach an extreme that, as we saw yesterday from the prosecutor’s announcement, is something unforgivable.”
Lester’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
