KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Andrew Lester, the white homeowner who is accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, a Black Kansas City teenager last week, appeared in Clay County court Wednesday.
The 84-year-old pleaded not guilty.
Judge Louis Angles read the bond conditions, which prohibit him from possessing any kind of weapon. Lester was also told to surrender any passports or conceal carry permits.
Prosecutors allege Lester shot the 16-year-old twice after Yarl mistakenly went to the wrong address to pick up his brothers on April 13.
The case has garnered national attention, as activists say the shooting highlights long-standing racism in the country, as well as in Kansas City’s Northland.
Lester was charged Monday with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in Clay County, and surrendered to police the following day before posting a $200,000 bail bond.
Lester’s attorney filed an entry of appearance on the case Wednesday.
In a statement, the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office said, “From this point forward, the State will be pushing to move this case forward as swiftly as legally permitted,” but added that the case remains an active investigation.
Lee Merritt, a prominent civil rights attorney hired by the Yarl family, appeared at the hearing by himself because Yarl’s family “reached a point of burnout” recently with the constant attention.
“They just need some time to try to get back to some sense of normalcy,” he said.
Merritt said it is frustrating for Yarl’s relatives that Lester is out on bond.
Because of the culture, he continued, it is hard to convict of a white man of harming a Black child in America, even though it shouldn’t be. He hoped this case would help “turn the tide,” he told reporters.
Merritt said the family is also looking forward to a federal review of the shooting.
Federal officials have declined to comment, citing Justice Department policy to not confirm or deny investigations.
Lester’s next court date is scheduled for June 1.
Details of the shooting
Yarl had been sent to a home on the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Terrace to pick up his siblings, but he mistakenly went to a house on the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Street instead, Kansas City police say. It was there that Lester shot Yarl twice, once in the head and once in the arm, before saying: “Don’t come around here,” according to documents filed in Clay County Circuit Court.
At a Monday news conference, prosecutor Zachary Thompson told the media there was a “racial component” to the case, but did not elaborate.
Charging documents indicate that Lester shot Yarl “within a few seconds” of seeing him at the door. Lester allegedly fired the second shot when Yarl was already on the ground and struck him in the arm.
Police responded to the scene and found Lester standing behind a shattered glass door, prosecutors say. He was taken into custody, but then released after two hours.
Community reactions
Protesters gathered outside Lester’s house Sunday before he was charged, and called for justice.
“How do you protect a Black kid?” one family friend asked at the demonstration. “They came to America for a better life. How is this a better life?”
Students at Staley High School, where Yarl attends, marched in front of the school together Tuesday and held signs colored in blue marker that read “Justice for Ralph Yarl” and “We walk for Ralph.”
Celebrities and political leaders have similarly shown support for Yarl’s family. A GoFundMe started by his aunt had already amassed more than $3 million as of Wednesday afternoon.
Just days after the shooting, Yarl was able to return home from the hospital.
“I’ve been taking the time to read the emails and comments to Ralph. It warms our hearts to see him smile at all the kind words,” a family member wrote on the GoFundMe page.
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