An 86-year-old Kansas City man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the man’s doorbell by mistake.

Andrew Lester was scheduled to stand trial next week on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the then-16-year-old, who survived and is now a freshman at Texas A&M, where he is a member of ROTC and the school’s marching band.

As part of a plea deal, Lester pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, a charge that Judge David Chamberlain said carries up to seven years behind bars. Lester, who will be sentenced on March 7, was hunched over as he was wheeled into the courtroom, his hands folded.

“While this marks a step toward accountability, true justice requires consequences that reflect the severity of his actions — anything less would be a failure to recognize the harm he has caused,” she said.

  • PattyMcB@lemmy.world
    1819·
    6 days ago

    I wish this hadn’t happened. The poor kid has to live with that horrific memory. I’m glad he’s living.

    I think some common sense should’ve been applied from the start. People like that need to not have guns, but they also need to feel secure enough not to want them.

    • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      31·
      6 days ago

      Most of Canada manages to survive just fine without the need to shoot kids who knock on a wrong door.

      Maybe it’s just a you thing.

    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      273·
      6 days ago

      GTFO with the victim-blaming bullshit. The perp’s ridiculous paranoid bigotry was 100% his own problem, nobody else’s.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
      171·
      6 days ago

      but they also need to feel secure enough not to want them.

      I’m not willing to do what racist pieces of shit would require done to others to make racists not want guns.

      • Limonene@lemmy.world
        191·
        6 days ago

        The only thing that needs to happen for people to “feel secure enough not to want” guns is for Fox News (et al) to stop spreading disinformation about the levels of violent crime. I see tons of ads falsely claiming that violent crime is through the roof, when it’s actually very low and decreasing.

    • PattyMcB@lemmy.world
      81·
      5 days ago

      I wasn’t blaming the kid ffs. The homeowner is a piece of shit for shooting him. Jesus. Reading comprehension is your friend