The elderly homeowner accused of shooting black teen Ralph Jarl twice after he turned himself in has been arrested.
Andrew Lister, 84, surrendered to the Clay County Detention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday afternoon.
He faces life in prison after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
Sixteen-year-old Ralph Jarl was shot twice through the door of Lester’s house, which is just a block from the property where his younger twin brother was waiting.
Lister was initially arrested on April 14, hours after the shooting, when he told police he was “scared to death” by Jarl standing at his door.
But he was then released on the opinion of the Clay County District Attorney’s Office, who charged him six days later.
Andrew Lister, 84, surrendered to the Clay County Detention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday afternoon.
He faces life in prison after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in connection with the shooting that led to Ralph Jarl’s hospitalization.
The Kansas City Police Department yesterday filed a file with the District Attorney’s office, which confirmed Lester’s arrest warrant Monday night.
It is not clear when Lester will appear in court, but he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for the charges if found guilty.
Ralph was shot in the head and arm on April 13 after he accidentally rang the doorbell on a Missouri property where he thought he was supposed to pick up his younger twin brothers.
In a probable cause affidavit, Lister told KCPD that shooting Yarl was ‘the last thing he wanted to do’ but that he was terrified of the teen because of his size and age.
The document also revealed that cops discovered a .32-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun with two spent shell casings still in the cylinder after officers arrived on the scene.
Police say Jarl was shot after he knocked on the door, with Lister telling officers he saw him “pull the doorknob” — something the teen denies.
Jarl also told authorities that Lester told him to “don’t come here” after he was shot in the head and arm through the glass at the front of the house.
Lister fired twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and he claimed no words were exchanged.
Ralph was shot in the head and arm on April 13 after accidentally ringing a doorbell on a Missouri property where he thought he was supposed to pick up his younger twin brothers.
Andrew Lister, 84, told the Kansas City Police Department that shooting Ralph Jarl, 16, was the ‘last thing he wanted to do’ but that he was terrified of the teen because of his size and age.
Lester fired twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and he claimed no words were exchanged.
The document revealed that he had been shot in the left forehead and right arm, with one of the neighbors telling the police that they thought it was “strange” that their “elderly neighbor had a late-night visitor”.
A witness added that they heard “two or three gunshots” from Lester’s house, and heard Jarl scream that he had been shot.
Lister told officers he felt “protective” on the property where he says he lives alone.
He also allegedly called 911 after the shooting, claiming that Jarl “ran away” after the incident.
However, the statement shows that he was “clearly upset” and “repeatedly expressed concern” about Jarl during the interview.
He said he “believed he was protecting himself from a physical confrontation and could not take a chance on the male entering”.
Ralph Jarl, 16, was shot twice in the head by a white man after he accidentally walked into the wrong house while he was going to collect his siblings.
It was said that Ralph, in the middle, was trying to pick up his younger siblings from a friend’s house, but went to the wrong address
Jarl told officers he pressed the doorbell and waited outside the door, adding that the man inside “took a long time but finally opened the door with a firearm.”
The officers took a hard drive from Lester’s home to preserve the video, but the video system “no longer worked”.
Leicester’s house bore signs warning of trespassers and unwanted visitors, although it is unclear whether Jarl saw any of them before approaching the property.
The doorbell had a small “No Attorneys” sign at the top while another sign claimed the property was “protected by CCTV”.
Clay County District Attorney Zachary Thompson announced the two felony charges Monday, and confirmed that there was a “racist element” to the case, but did not provide further details.
Family attorney Lee Merritt added that Jarl’s legal team was unaware of the “racial component” of the case that the Clay County District Attorney’s office announced Monday night.
He said it was a white shooter and a black boy. The man in his eighties returned home and slept in his own bed that night. But I’m not sure what exactly the Attorney General was referring to.
Lester’s bond is set at $200,000. If convicted, he could face life in prison for assault, and from 3 to 15 years for armed criminal action.
said Ralph’s mother CBS News that her son was waiting for a hug from his twin brothers, but instead “took a few bullets.”
Jarl is said to be recovering, but his mother said he mostly “just sits there and stares with buckets of tears rolling down his eyes.”
A talented clarinetist, Ralph also leads a section of his school’s orchestra and plays multiple instruments in the Northland Youth Symphony Orchestra
The house in Kansas City, Missouri had a “No Attorneys” sign above the doorbell that Ralph accidentally rang
She said that the bullet in his arm had not been removed for 12 hours, and that the lingering scar of the injury would stay with him “for a long time.”
President Joe Biden called the Jarl family on Monday, inviting them to the White House when Ralph is well.
Jarl’s mother revealed that they talked about music, with the president saying that if his family had to rely on his musical skills they would “die hungry” — and the teen quipped that Biden “had jokes.”
It’s a tragedy it took so long for the district attorney to charge Lester, Crump added, saying, “I think it’s appropriate, you can’t send a message to the community that it’s okay to shoot black people in the head just because you’re ringing me.” door bell.
Gun violence against unarmed black people must stop. Our children should feel safe, not like they are being chased.
While this is certainly a step in the right direction, we will continue to fight for Ralph as he works towards a full recovery.
Asked why Lister had not been charged with attempted murder, Thompson said they had decided to charge him with a “felony” because it was the most serious offence.
Lister was taken in for questioning immediately after the shooting, but released two hours after his arrest – without any charges being laid.
Police received a statement from Ralph in hospital last Friday before being released on Monday, to continue recuperating at home with his mother – a nurse.
President Joe Biden called the Jarl family on Monday, inviting them to the White House when Ralph is well enough.
The property also had a sign claiming it was “protected by security cameras”.
Cleo Nagby, with attorney Lee Merritt, said her son, Ralph Jarl, is able to communicate “when he feels like it.”
He continues to improve. He’s responsive and making good progress, said his dad, Paul.
Celebrities were quick to support the teen, with actresses Viola Davis, Jennifer Hudson and Halle Berry demanding justice.
Kansas City chief Patrick Mahomes said he hopes the “justice system gets it right by him.”
Jennifer Aniston called on her followers to demand the “immediate arrest” of the shooter.
It also posted the prosecutor’s contact address and said, “Use the contact information below to request that District Attorney Zachary Thompson make immediate arrest and appropriate charges.”
Her comment comes as a GoFundMe fundraiser founded by Yarl’s aunt raised more than $2.7 million for the teen just one day after it was created.
