18 April 2023
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An 84-year-old man has surrendered to law enforcement following the shooting of a Kansas City teen.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to FOX4 that Andrew Lester surrendered himself at the Clay County Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon.
Lester has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl. His bond has been set at $200,000.
Kansas City police say on April 13, Yarl intended to pick up his younger brothers at a home on N.E. 115th Terrace, but he mistakenly went to a house on N.E. 115th Street.
When he arrived at the home and rang the doorbell, Lester shot Yarl, court documents say.
Records say Lester shot the teen twice, once on the top of his left eye and a second time in his upper right arm.
Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe, said one of the bullets remained in Ralph’s temple for 12 hours before it could be removed.
Court documents say Lester fired through a glass door and Yarl did not enter the home.
According to court documents, Yarl said Lester told him, “Don’t come around here” following the shooting.
“As the prosecutor of Clay County, I can tell you there was a racial component,” Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson said Monday.
The prosecutor said Lester used a .32 revolver, but he did not have any information on if the gun was registered or not.
The night of the shooting, Lester was taken into police custody for questioning and then released. Police said the investigation called for more work than they could complete during the 24-hour holding period.
Yarl’s family said the 16-year-old was released from the hospital Monday. Yarl’s mother said he’s only home because of the medical experts in their family who are supporting him.