Man pleads guilty in shooting of US teen Ralph Yarl

An 86-year-old man in Kansas City, Missouri, has pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a teen who accidentally visited the wrong address.

Andrew Lester on Friday agreed the lesser charge as part of a plea deal, according to US media. His trial was due to begin next week.

In April 2023, Ralph Yarl, 16, rang Lester’s doorbell as he went to pick up his younger brothers. Prosecutors say Lester shot the teen without speaking to him. The boy survived.

His was one of several cases at the time of unarmed people being shot after confusing addresses, which launched debate over stand your ground laws in some US states that allows use of deadly force to prevent death or great bodily harm.

The case prompted protests and attracted attention from civil rights and racial justice advocates, who argued that Ralph Yarl’s race was a factor in the shooting. Ralph is black and Lester is white.

Police initially said there was a “racial component” to the shooting, but authorities ultimately opted not to charge Lester with a hate crime.

Lester and his lawyers said that he was acting in self-defence and thought the teenager was trying to break into his home.

In a 2023 court appearance, he initially pleaded not guilty to the assault and armed criminal action charges. He faced life in prison if convicted at trial.

He will be sentenced 7 March for the lesser charge. He faces up to seven years behind bars.

“We remain hopeful that his sentencing will not be merely a slap on the wrist but a decision that upholds the seriousness of his crime.” the Yarl family said in a statement to local media.

Ralph Yarl told authorities that his mother sent him to pick up his siblings around 22:00 local time that night. He mixed up similar street names – Northeast 115 Street and Northeast 115th Terrace – which put him on Lester’s doorstep and about a block away from the house he was trying to visit.

After he rang the doorbell, Lester shot him twice – once in the forehead and once in the arm. Prosecutors have said that he “did not cross the threshold” of Lester’s home and survived after fleeing to neighbouring homes for help.

Police initially detained Lester for questioning and released him without charges, sparking protests in Kansas City. Lester later turned himself in after an arrest warrant was issued.

Ralph Yarl, who has since graduated from high school, is expected to deliver a victim impact statement at a sentencing hearing next month.

The protests, which drew support from celebrities including Halle Berry, Kerry Washington and Jennifer Hudson, called for racial justice and drew attention to stand your ground laws. Critics argued they contributed to gun violence against black people in the US.

The case was also one of several in the spring of 2023 in which Americans – many of them children and teens – were injured after minor mistakes were met with gun violence.