Clay County Sheriff’s Office/Lee Merritt via Reuters
Andrew Lester, the 84-year-old Kansas City homeowner who shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in the head after the honors student rang the wrong doorbell, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to assault in the first degree and armed criminal action. A stooped Lester appeared at his arraignment walking with a cane and wearing khakis, a blue oxford shirt, and a blue-and-white baseball-style jacket. Clay County Circuit Court Judge Louis Angles ordered Lester, who is out on bond, to surrender his passport and concealed carry permit, and told him he could not leave the state of Missouri without permission. After the proceeding, Yarl family lawyer Lee Merritt told reporters that a true show of remorse for Lester would have been to plead guilty. Lester is due back in court on June 1.
