KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: The trial lasting seven days has been scheduled after Kansas City man, Andrew Lester, 84, pleaded not guilty to shooting teenager Ralph Yarl, 17 on April 13.
The case, which received wide attention is set to proceed to a jury next year on October 7, 2024, as per ABC News. Lester has waived his rights to have the charges read.
What is Andrew Lester accused of?
Andrew Lester was accused of shooting Ralph Yarl in the head and arm in April promoting charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action against him.
If convicted, the 84-year-old can get life in prison. Lester had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges in April, but the case moved to Circuit Court for trial.
Lester was released two hours after he was arrested in April and remains free on a $20,000 bond.
It was due to the reasons that the lower court cannot try felonies, Clay County Prosecutor and spokesperson Alexander Higginbotham told USA Today.
Lester could face a hate crime charge as demanded by many, but Zachary Thompson, the Clay County Prosecutor, said in April that charging him with first-degree assault would be more severe and carries a longer sentence.
Why did Andrew Lester shoot Ralph Yarl?
Lester, who is a retired aircraft mechanic, shot at Yarl when he mistakenly rang his doorbell. Yarl was to pick up his twin siblings at a house nearby.
However, he was mistaken and went to Lester's house after getting the street wrong.
Yarl testified that he waited for a “longer than normal” time after ringing the bell.
He thought his brother’s friend’s parents would open the inner door, so he reached for the storm door.
But it was Lester who opened it and said, “Don’t come here ever again.” Yarl recalled that he felt a bullet hit his head, making him fall to the ground, and then another bullet hit his arm.
However, Andrew Lester has maintained he acted in self-defence and that he was scared to death fearing that Yarl was a burglar.
How did Ralph Yarl survive?
Ralph Yarl, as per Dr Jo Ling Goh, a pediatric neurosurgeon testament, who treated Yarl has a bullet embedded in his skull.
The bullet did not penetrate his brain and Yarl was able to go back to high school where he studied honours and is also a member of the all-state band.
Yarl is now a senior and has plans to major in engineering college.
