DAY IN COURT

Man Ordered to Stand Trial for Shooting Teen Who Rang Wrong Doorbell

The attorney for 84-year-old Andrew Lester argued in court that his client’s age impeded his ability to tell if Ralph Yarl was a thief.

The 84-year-old white man who shot Ralph Yarl, an unarmed Black teenager who rang the wrong doorbell in April, will have to stand trial for the horrific shooting, a Missouri judge ruled Thursday. Andrew Lester said he thought Yarl was robbing him, asking a judge to dismiss his case on the grounds he fired in self-defense. A 911 call from after the shooting was played in court, in which Lester said he opened fire because he was about to be robbed by “a six-foot-tall Black man,” KMBC reported. Lester’s attorney, Steve Salmon, pointed to his client’s age as the reason he couldn’t differentiate Yarl from a thief. “A terrible event occurred, but it is not criminal,” he said. Judge Louis Angles didn’t budge, ordering Lester to return on Sept. 20 to be arraigned on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Yarl, who was shot in the head, miraculously survived the shooting and has since appeared publicly.