MISSION, Kan. (AP) — An 86-year-old Missouri man has died just days after pleading guilty to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the white man’s doorbell by mistake, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Andrew Lester of Kansas City was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the then-16-year-old, who survived and is now a freshman at Texas A&M. Before his trial was scheduled to begin, he pleaded guilty Friday to a lesser charge of second-degree assault, which carries up to seven years behind bars. He was scheduled to be sentenced on March 7.
Cher Congour, a spokeswoman for the Clay County prosecutor’s office, said Lester’s attorney informed them of his death.
“We have learned of the passing of Andrew Lester and extend our sincere condolences to his family during this difficult time,” the prosecutor’s office said in a news release. “While the legal proceedings have now concluded, we acknowledge that Mr. Lester did take responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty in this case.”
The news release offered no cause of death. Kansas City police said they weren’t conducting a death investigation. And Sarah Boyd, a spokeswoman for the Clay County sheriff’s office, said she had no information on Lester’s cause of death since he wasn’t in custody, but noted that he was in “poor health” at last week’s plea hearing.
Yarl’s family said in a written statement Wednesday that what happened was one of the reasons they had pushed for a speedy trial.
“Now, another Black child harmed by prejudice will never see the man who shot him face the full weight of the justice system. While Lester finally admitted guilt, it came at the very last moment—after two years of stalling. That delay leaves our family reeling,” the statement said.
The case shocked the country and renewed national debate about gun policies and race in the U.S.
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, had 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.
Yarl testified at a 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, assuming he was at his brothers’ friends’ parents.
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 had filed a lawsuit against the retired aircraft mechanic.
Salmon said last year that Lester’s physical and mental condition had deteriorated. He said Lester had heart issues, a broken hip and had been hospitalized. Lester 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, Lester was hunched over as he was wheeled into the courtroom, his hands folded. Asked whether he was in poor health, Lester responded yes.
The 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.
Lester’s grandson, Daniel Ludwig, didn’t immediately return a text message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
