Andrew Lester, the 86-year-old Kansas City man who shot Black honor student Ralph Yarl after the teen mistakenly rang his doorbell, has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
Lester, who is white, was set to stand trial next week for first-degree assault and armed criminal action. But on Friday, he accepted a plea deal, admitting to second-degree assault instead, CBS News reports. That charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years—far less than the 15 to 30 years he could have faced if convicted of first-degree assault.
The case sparked national outrage when Yarl, then 16, mistakenly showed up at Lester’s home on April 13, 2023, while trying to pick up his younger siblings. Lester shot him twice—once in the head and then again in the arm—before telling him, “Don’t come here ever again.”
Miraculously, Yarl survived. He has since graduated from high school and is moving forward with his life, though his family says the trauma of the shooting still weighs heavily on him.
Lester’s defense team has long claimed he acted in self-defense, saying he was frightened when Yarl knocked on his door late at night. But prosecutors argued there was no justification for opening fire on an unarmed teenager who posed no threat.
With the plea deal, Lester avoids trial and any potential appeal but still faces sentencing on March 7. He was wheeled into the courtroom Friday, visibly frail and hunched over. His attorney, Steve Salmon, has previously said Lester has suffered from heart problems, a broken hip and stress-related weight loss since the shooting.
A judge had previously ordered a mental evaluation of Lester but allowed the trial to proceed after its completion. The results of that evaluation were not released publicly.
Yarl’s family continues to fight for justice. They’ve filed a civil lawsuit against Lester, seeking accountability beyond the criminal case.