A judge has ordered a mental evaluation for the 85-year-old white man who shot Ralph Yarl, the black teenager who accidentally rang the wrong doorbell.
This means the trial of Andrew Lester of Kansas City, Missouri, has been delayed indefinitely after his attorney requested the evaluation last month.
Lester’s attorney claims the retired aircraft mechanic’s health has deteriorated so much that he now lacks the capacity to understand the proceedings against him or assist in his own defense.
Lester’s trial was scheduled for next month, on October 7, but the hearing will now take place the following day.
Lester appeared in court Monday and pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the April 13, 2023, shooting of Yarl, who was 16 at the time and mistakenly went to the wrong house.
A judge ordered a mental evaluation and has now indefinitely delayed the trial of Andrew Lester, the 85-year-old white man who shot Ralph Yarl
Ralph Yarl, then 16, accidentally rang the wrong doorbell at a house in Kansas City, Missouri.
The elderly man had already pleaded guilty to the charges and his lawyer had argued that Lester acted in self-defense.
Yarl survived the shooting and graduated from high school this spring, but his family said the shooting took a huge emotional toll on him and he filed a lawsuit against Lester.
The shooting shocked the country and renewed national debates over gun policy and race in the United States.
Attorney Steve Salmon has long argued that Lester was acting in self-defense, terrified by the stranger who knocked on his door as he settled into bed for the night.
Yarl showed up at Lester’s door after getting confused on the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin brothers from a playdate.
Yarl testified at an earlier hearing that Lester shot him in the head and told him, “Don’t you ever come back here again.”
Although the bullet did not penetrate Yarl’s brain, the impact knocked him to the ground. Yarl said Lester shot him in the arm.
In the following months, Lester had heart problems, a broken hip, and was in the hospital several times.
Lester has also lost 50 pounds, which Salmon attributes to the stress he has experienced due to intense media scrutiny and death threats.
Ralph Yarl, now 17, was shot by Lester on April 13, 2023 after he headed to the wrong address when he went to pick up his younger twin brothers from his friend’s house in Kansas City, Missouri (pictured: Yarl in hospital after the shooting)
Ralph Yarl, center, is said to have attempted to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend’s house but went to the wrong address.
Salmon said Lester has memory problems related to key facts in the case that were not a problem before.
He said Lester believes every pretrial hearing is the actual trial, despite being told otherwise, and believes the coins he bought in a television ad are now worth about $20 million.
“Throughout this case, counsel has noted a significant deterioration in the defendant’s overall physical health as well as his mental acuity,” Salmon said in the motion Monday.
“The defendant’s physical health is partly due to a hip fracture, heart problems and hospitalisation during the pendency of this case,” he added.
Salmon also noted that due to “overwhelming media attention, as well as death threats and other unwanted attention,” it has become “difficult for Lester to interact socially with anyone.”