A Missouri man who shot a child twice after he rang his doorbell by mistake has avoided trial by pleading guilty to a lesser charge.
Andrew Lester, 86, opened fire on Ralph Yarl, who was then 16, striking him in the head and arm on April 13, 2023. Yarl miraculously survived – despite being shot in the head – and is now a freshman at Texas A&M.
Lester had been due to stand trial next week on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action, but he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as part of a plea deal.
The lesser offense carried up seven years behind bars, Judge David Chamberlain said. He will be sentencing Lester, a retired aircraft mechanic, on March 7.
Lester appeared hunched over as he was wheeled into the courtroom on Friday, with his arms folded. Yarl and his mother, Cleo Nagbe, sat in the front row.
In a statement issued after Lester’s plea, Nagbe thanked her family’s supporters who ‘saw Ralph’s humanity, and rejected a world where fear and prejudice endanger innocent lives.’
‘While this marks a step toward accountability, true justice requires consequences that reflect the severity of his actions — anything less would be a failure to recognize the harm he has caused,’ she said.
The state will seek a five-year prison sentence for Lester, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson told reporters after the hearing. ‘Self-defense has limits,’ Thompson said.
Missouri man Andrew Lester (pictured above) who shot Yarl in 2023 after he rang his doorbell by mistake has avoided trial by pleading guilty to a lesser charge
Ralph Yarl, (pictured outside court on Friday) was shot in the head by Andrew Lester, 86, after he mistakenly rang his doorbell in April 2023. Lester has made a plea deal with prosecutors
Lester, 86, opened fire on Yarl (pictured above on Friday) who was then 16, striking him in the head and arm on April 13, 2023. Yarl survived and is now a freshman at Texas A&M
Under the first-degree assault charge, Lester faced a sentence of up to 30 years behind bars.
One of the key elements of second-degree assault is that defendants ‘have the burden of injecting the issue of influence of sudden passion arising from adequate cause.’
‘This is probably perceived as some middle ground, and the heat of passion would be what was the motivation for the shooting,’ said J.R. Hobbs, a Kansas City defense attorney who is not involved in the case.
‘If he was afraid or whatever, it may not rise to a full defense. The parties might agree to that because on one hand, it’s a felony conviction — no trial, no possible appeal.
‘On the other hand, with a lesser statutory limit, the defendant’s exposure is less as well.’
Yarl showed up on Lester’s doorstep on the night of April 13, 2023, 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.
Authorities say Lester shot Yarl twice: first in the head, then in the arm.
The state will seek a five-year prison sentence for Lester, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson (pictured) told reporters after the hearing on Friday
Yarl, now 18, made a full physical recovery from the shooting but reported having brain fog and headaches (Pictured: Yarl in the hospital following the shooting)
An attorney for Lester (pictured in his mugshot) has argued that he was acting in self-defense and that he was terrified by the stranger who knocked on his door as he settled into bed
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 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.
Salmon said last year that Lester’s physical and mental condition had deteriorated. He said Lester has had heart issues, a broken hip and has been hospitalized.
Lester has also lost 50 pounds (23 kilograms), which Salmon blamed on the stress of intense media coverage and death threats he subsequently received.
During Friday’s hearing, the judge asked Lester whether he was in poor health. Lester responded yes.
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.
