Ralph Yarl: Prosecutors charge Kansas City homeowner for shooting teen
Andrew Lester pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and armed criminal action as he made his first appearance over the shooting of Ralph Yarl on Wednesday in Clay County Court.
Following the hearing Lee Merritt, the lawyer for Ralph Yarl’s family, told reporters that the shooting was now being probed by the Justice Department as a hate crime.
“Before I even made it to Kansas City, we reached out to the Department of Justice, myself and my co-counsel Ben Crump, we have some longstanding relationships there,” Mr Merritt said, according to KCUR.
Earlier, a new photo captured Black teenager Ralph Yarl back home recovering from his injuries after he was shot in the head and arm by white homeowner Andrew Lester.
Lee Merritt, the civil rights attorney representing the family, posted a photo on Twitter of himself with the 16-year-old.
“Ralph Yarl is home and recovering! How the bullet in his head did not cause more extensive damage is truly a miracle. To God be the glory!” wrote Mr Merritt.
Police say Ralph, 16, went to pick up his younger brothers from a friend’s house on the night of 13 April.
The teen accidentally got the wrong house and Mr Lester allegedly shot him twice through a glass screen door.
Mr Lester, 84, is scheduled to appear in court in Kansas City, Missouri, for the first time on Wednesday afternoon on two felony charges.
He turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday – more than 20 hours after he was charged – only to be released on bond less than two hours later.
The shooting came just two days before Kaylin Gillis, 20, was shot in a driveway in New York by a homeowner after taking a wrong turn.
