Andrew Lester, the Kansas City man accused in the high-profile shooting of Ralph Yarl, the teen who mistakenly went to the door of his Northland home in 2023, pleaded guilty Friday to a lesser charge of second-degree assault. The plea came on the eve of Lester’s trial in Clay County Circuit Court, which was scheduled to begin Feb. 18. The trial has been canceled, and Lester, 86, is instead scheduled to be sentenced March 7. Yarl, 18, and family members appeared in court Friday afternoon as Lester entered the guilty plea. During a brief, 15-minute hearing, Lester, who was wheeled in and out of the courtroom in a wheelchair, agreed with an assessment by Judge David Chamberlain that his health was “not great,” but said he understood the proceedings and pleaded guilty to the charge. Lester, who is white, had faced first-degree assault and armed criminal action charges in the shooting of Yarl, who is Black, after the teen mistakenly showed up on his doorstep in Kansas City’s Northland, looking to pick up his brothers on April 13, 2023. Lester then allegedly shot Yarl after the teen rang the doorbell at Lester’s home. Read more about the plea deal at the link in our bio, or kansascity.com.
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