Ralph Yarl's family speaks out, said race played a factor in shooting after suspect pleads guilty to second-degree assault
Andrew Lester, the Kansas City man charged with shooting Ralph Yarl in April 2023 after the teenager knocked on the door of the wrong house, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault charges in a 10-minute Missouri court hearing on Friday.
The 86-year-old man had been facing charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of then-16-year-old Yarl, a Black honors student who mistakenly showed up at Lester’s door to pick up his twin brothers.
Second-degree assault, a Class D felony, carries with it the sentencing possibility of up to seven years in prison, Clay County Prosecutor Zach Thompson said at a press conference after Friday's hearing. The sentencing hearing will happen on March 7, according to Thompson.
Lester, who is white, shot Yarl in the head and right arm, saying he believed someone was trying to break into his house, according to a probable cause statement obtained by ABC News. He initially pleaded not guilty in 2023 and was released on a $200,000 bond.
Yarl's familly told ABC News Live Prime's Linsey Davis on Friday that they were not happy with the plea deal that Lester accepted and believe that race played a role in Yarl's shooting.
"If you were to flip the script and you make that person an older Black man and a white kid or even a white man in a white kid, the situation would not have even happened," Faith Spoonmore, Yarl's aunt, told Davis. "They probably would have given that kid the benefit of the doubt. But because we have this stereotype of thinking that Black kids are dangerous, that probably played a huge role in what happened to Ralph."
"Our office has maintained regular and respectful communication with Mr. Yarl and his family, and they support this resolution," Thompson said Friday.
Thompson was told by a reporter at the news conference that Yarl's family said they were not satisfied with the outcome of the plea deal, and the county prosecutor said he understood the frustration of the family.
"Based on our communications, both direct and written with Mr. Yarl and his family, we agreed that this would be a just resolution in the case," Thompson said.
Yarl survived the attack and has since graduated high school, but suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of the shooting. Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe, previously told ABC News that her son has struggled academically in ways he didn’t prior to the injury.
"About two years ago, we knew Mr. Lester was guilty," Nagbe told Davis on Friday. "We let him do what he wanted to do and waited two years after for him to show up and say, 'I'm going to plead guilty to the lesser of the charges.' So we're sick of this. So let's just move on and give this kid a chance to move on with his life and live on as a regular kid."
Lester’s attorney, Steve Salmon, previously argued that his client's mental and physical capacity was a factor in the case, postponing the initial trial date from Oct. 7, 2024 to Feb. 18, 2025. Salmon said the retired air mechanic had heart and memory issues, a broken hip and had lost over 50 pounds. In November, the judge ruled that Lester was fit to stand trial after reviewing the results of a mental exam.
The Missouri man appeared in court in a wheelchair on Friday, according to ABC's Kansas City affiliate KMBC.
Yarl’s family filed a civil lawsuit against Lester and the Highland Acres homeowners association nearly a year after the shooting occurred, claiming that little progress had been made in the case and that the association failed to administer aid after shots were fired.
