Andrew Lester, Kansas City man, who pleaded guilty to crimes over crime in the second degree of the shooting of Ralph Yarl, has died while waiting for conviction, Clay County prosecuted Zachary Thompson announced on Wednesday.
“We have learned about Andrew Lester’s passing away and extended our sincere compassion for his family in this difficult time,” Thompson said. “While the trial is now completed, we acknowledge that Mr. Lester was taking responsibility for his actions by claiming to blame for this case. Our thoughts remain with both families affected by this tragic incident as they continue their healing process.”
Lester, 86, was ready to go to trial this week to shoot Yarl, a black teenager who mistakenly knocked on his door, but prior to the trial, Lester entered a guilty plea for Friday for crime to the other degree.
He was expected to be convicted in this case during a hearing on March 7.
Second degree assault, a crime in class D, results in the penalty of up to seven years in prison, Thompson said at a press conference after Friday’s hearing.
Lester was originally indicted for a counting of crime in the first degree and a counting of armed criminal acts, also a crime, in the shooting of Yarl, who mistakenly went to Lester’s Kansas City Home after arriving at the wrong address to pick up his twin brothers From a play date on April 13, 2023.
This reservation photo provided by Clay County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office shows Andrew Lester.
Clay County Sheriff’s Office via AP
Lester, white, shot Yarl in the head and right arm and said he thought someone was trying to break into his house, according to a probable cause declaration obtained by ABC News. He did not initially plead guilty of 2023 and was released on a bond of $ 200,000.
Yarl was 16 at the time of the shooting and suffered a traumatic brain injury, according to his family.
Yarl’s family told ABC News in a statement Wednesday that “Justice never really served.”
“The news of Andrew Lester’s passersby brings a mixture of emotions, but it doesn’t bring justice,” Yarl’s family said.
“We remain obliged to seek a world where no child fears for their lives because of their race and no family has to endure what we have. Ralf’s story is far from past, nor our struggle for justice , “the family added.
Yarl’s family former ABC News Live Prime’s Linsey Davis told Friday that they were not happy with the plea that Lester accepted.
“About two years ago we knew that Mr. Lester was guilty, ”Yarl’s mother Cleo Nagbe told Davis Friday. “We let him do what he wanted to do, and waited two years after he had to show up and say, ‘I want to claim myself to the smallest of the charges.’ So we’re sick of this.
Ralph Yarl, a black 16-year-old who was shot and wounded by a homeowner after mistakenly going to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, has a basslarin in this photo obtained from social media.
Lee Merritt via Reuters
Lester’s lawyer, Steve Salmon, previously argued that his client’s mental and physical capacity was a factor in the case where he postponed the initial trial date from October 7, 2024 to February 18, 2025. Salmon said the retired air mechanic had heart and Memory problems, a broken hip and had lost over 50 pounds.
In November, the judge stated that Lester was suitable for litigation after reviewing the results of a mental examination.
Yarl opened up the shooting in an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America” co -anchoring Robin Roberts in July 2023, where he reflected on his recovery and upset experience.
“He is pointing [the gun] With me … so I cook, like, and I turn my head, “Yarl told Roberts.” Then it happened. And then I’m on the ground … and then I fall on the glass. The crushed glass. And then before I know, I run away and yell, ‘Help me, help me.’ “
