Andrew Lester who shot Ralph Yarl, 16, released on $200K bail as GoFundMe for teen surpasses $3M
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: Andrew Lester, the elderly white homeowner accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager, has been released on $200,000 bail after turning himself in to Clay County's Detention Centre in Kansas City, Missouri. He posted 10 percent of the bail amount and was subsequently released.
Lester, 84, is facing life imprisonment after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree assault, which has a possible sentence of 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment. Additionally, he has been charged with armed criminal action, which carries a potential sentence of 3 to 15 years.
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Ralph Yarl: GoFundMe for Missouri teen shot after ringing doorbell of wrong home raises over $2M
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office reported that Lester surrendered himself at a detention center around 1:30 pm local time on Tuesday, April 18, more than 20 hours after charges were filed against him for shooting Yarl. He was released later, at around 3 pm, after he paid a $200,000 bond. Lester has been ordered not to possess any weapons and is prohibited from having any contact with Yarl as a condition of his release, as per Daily Mail.
UPDATE: Lester has posted bond and has been released. Future updates about case proceedings will be posted to Missouri Casenet: https://t.co/IG2aFfyhEN
— Clay County, Missouri Sheriff (@SheriffClayCo) April 18, 2023
Lester allegedly shot Yarl thinking he was a robber
Lester told investigators that he was in bed when he heard the doorbell ring. He grabbed a .32 pistol and opened the inside door, where he saw a Black male pulling on the door from outside. Lester believed that the teenager was trying to break into his house and was "scared to death" due to the boy's size, fearing that he would not be able to defend himself because of his old age.
Yarl, 16, is now in the process of recovering both physically, emotionally, and mentally. The incident occurred on the evening of April 13, when Yarl went to a residence on 115th Terrace to pick up his siblings, thinking it was his friend's house. Faith Spoonmore, the teenager's aunt, explained in the GoFundMe started for him. She wrote, "He mistakenly went to the wrong house, one block away from the house where his siblings were. He pulled into the driveway and rang the doorbell. The man in the home opened the door, looked my nephew in the eye, and shot him in the head. My nephew fell to the ground, and the man shot him again."
GoFundMe campaign has received $3.1M
The campaign was created to support the recovery of Yarl and donations have been pouring in. Just within two days of its launch, the campaign has received an incredible $3.1 million. The campaign page includes a description of him by his aunt, who refers to him as a "fantastic kid" with aspirations of attending Texas A&M University to study chemical engineering.
