Trial For White Man Who Shot Ralph Yarl Set To Proceed After Mental Exam

Photo: Getty Images Andrew Lester, the 86-year-old Kansas City man charged with shooting Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who mistakenly went to the wrong house, has been deemed mentally fit to stand trial. On Tuesday (November 26), a judge ruled that Lester’s trial would continue on schedule for February 2025 after reviewing findings from his mental exam, according to ABC News. The exam was ordered last month after Lester’s attorney, Steve Salmon, argued that his mental and physical conditions had diminished. The trial stems from the shooting of Yarl in April 2023. Yarl mistakenly went to the wrong address to pick up his siblings when he was shot twice by Lester. The homeowner told police that he shot Yarl because he thought the teen was trying to break into his home and he was “scared to death.” Yarl said he waited for an extended period of time after ringing the doorbell of the home. Lester eventually opened his door and showed his gun, saying “Don’t come here ever again,” according to Yarl. The teen testified that he took his hand off an exterior glass storm door before being shot in the head. Yarl said he fell to the ground and...