A Missouri judge has ruled that a white man, 84, will stand trial for assault after he shot a black teenager who accidentally knocked on wrong door while fetching his brothers.
Ralph Yarl, 17, was shot in the head and arm on April 13 after he went to the wrong address in Kansas City, Missouri. He accidentally went to Northeast 115th Street instead of Northeast 115th Terrace – one block from one another.
Andrew Lester, the homeowner who shot him with a revolver, will now face a trial.
The retired aircraft mechanic is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action – and he previously pleaded not guilty to shooting high school student Yarl.
Clay County Judge Louis Angles issued the ruling that a trial must go ahead after hearing multiple witness statements at a preliminary hearing this week.
Andrew Lester, 84, surrendered to Clay County’s Detention Centre in Kansas City, Missouri, in April. He will now face trial, it’s been ruled
Ralph Yarl , 17, was shot in the head and arm on April 13 after he went to the wrong address in Kansas City, Missouri. He accidentally went to Northeast 115th Street instead of Northeast 115th Terrace – one block from one another
Lester was arrested and held on $200,000 bond. He posted 10 percent and was freed in late April.
In June, Yarl spoke out for the first time since being assaulted on the porch.
Recalling the moments before he was shot by the homeowner, Yarl told Good Morning America: ‘I go into the driveway, I walk up the steps, I rang the doorbell.
‘I didn’t even know their family at all…so I think this is their house.
‘I actually waited a long time. I hear the door open. I see this old man, and I’m assuming his must be their grandpa, and then he pulls out his gun.
‘I’m like woah, so I back up. He points it at me so I brace and I turn my head.
‘Before that I’m thinking, there’s no way he’s actually going to shoot, the doors even open, he’s going to shoot through his door and glass is going to get everywhere.
‘And it happened. I’m on the ground, I fall on the glass, the shattered glass. Before I know it I’m running way shouting help me help me.
‘I was bleeding from my head. I was thinking, how is this possible.’
‘He only said five words: “Don’t come here ever again.”‘
Nearly six months after the ordeal, the budding musician and school scholar has made a full physical recovery – but he said mentally there is still a strain following the shooting.
Ralph, center, was said to be trying to pick up his younger siblings from a friend’s house but went to the wrong address
Ralph was shot in the head and the arm on April 13 after mistakenly ringing the doorbell at the Missouri property where he thought he was meant to pick up his younger twin brothers
The teen, who took his SATs when he was just in the eighth grade, now struggles with daily tasks which would normally be easy to him.
He said: ‘There’s a lot of things that are going on inside my head that aren’t normal. I’ve been having headaches, trouble with sleep, and sometimes my mind is just foggy. I can’t concentrate on things that would be easy to do.
‘I’m just a kid. I going to keep doing all the stuff that makes me happy and just living my life the best I can and not let this bother me.
‘Justice is the rule, the law, regardless of race, ethnicity and age. He should be convicted for the crimes he made. I’m past having any personal hatred for him.
‘He should suffer repercussions because that’s what our society is made of, trust in each other and reassurance that we can coexist together in harmony.’
During the ordeal on April 13, the teenager approached the door but did not ‘cross the threshold’ into the house, prosecutors said.
Lester was said to have opened the door and fired two .32-caliber rounds from a revolver that struck Yarl on the forehead and the arm.
Prosecutors previously said there was no indication any words were exchanged.
Lester told a police officer after the shooting that he saw a black man ‘pulling on the exterior storm door handle,’ and that he believed the person was attempting to break in.
During an interview with a detective Yarl said that he only rang the doorbell and did not pull on the door.
Lester shot twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and claims that no words were exchanged
Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson confirmed there was a racial factor in the attack – after the teenage music scholar was shot twice, in the head and arm, after ringing the wrong doorbell when he went to pick up his younger brothers.
‘I can tell you there was a racial component to the case,’ said Thompson.
Ralph was known among his peers for his intellect and for being a ‘musical genius’.
The teen had received a letter from Yale Undergraduate Admissions Board identifying him as a ‘good candidate’ for the prestigious university.
Ralph is part of his high school’s Technology Student Association and Science Olympia Team, plays in the marching, jazz, and competition band, and is one of the top bass clarinet players in Missouri.
He had big dreams of attending college after being recognized as a Missouri scholar academy alumni in 2022.
Ralph’s attorneys specialize in civil rights and previously represented the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Cameron Lamb.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk