16-year old goes to pick up his siblings; ends up getting shot at the wrong address

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge ruled Thursday that the 84-year-old white homeowner who shot a Black teenager after he mistakenly went to the man’s house must stand trial.

Clay County Judge Louis Angles issued the ruling after a dozen witnesses spoke at a preliminary hearing, including Ralph Yarl, the teenager who was shot by Andrew Lester on April 13 when Yarl went to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers.

Lester, a retired aircraft mechanic, is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He previously pleaded not guilty in the shooting that shocked the country and renewed national debates about gun policies and race in America. His next court date is an arraignment, scheduled for Sept. 20.

Yarl spoke softly as he testified that he was sent to pick up his twin siblings but had no phone — he’d lost it at school. The house he intended to go to was just blocks from his own home, but he had the street wrong.



Yarl said he rang the bell and the wait 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.

Instead, it was Lester, who told him, “Don’t come here ever again,” Yarl recalled. He said he was shot in the head, the impact knocking him to the ground, and was then shot in the arm.…….



https://apnews.com/article/d2d210695772de5435c70039f0b36504