KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Clay County judge ruled Thursday that Andrew Lester, the man accused of shooting a Black teen who accidentally went to the wrong home to pick up his siblings, will stand trial.
During a preliminary hearing, Judge Louis Angles heard testimony from 12 witnesses, including Ralph Yarl, the 17-year-old Lester is accused of shooting.
The shooting unfolded just before 10 p.m. on April 13 when Yarl went to Lester's home in the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Terrace.
Lester shot Yarl through his door twice — once in the head and a second time in the arm. Lester was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: Ralph Yarl's shooting
During the hearing Thursday, prosecutors played the 911 phone call Lester made to police on the night of the shooting.
In the audio, Lester admits to shooting Yarl, saying he had came up to his house. He acknowledged that Yarl didn't enter his home.
“He was at my door trying to get in and I shot him," Lester could be heard saying in the audio. He also described Yarl as tall, Black man.
Yarl was the last witness to testify at the hearing Thursday.
During his testimony, Yarl recounted the night he went to Lester's home and walked up to his door.
Yarl said he rang the doorbell and waited what he thought was a reasonable time before he touched the storm door.
As he did so, Yarl said the inner door opened and he saw Lester standing in front of him and realized he had a gun.
Lester told Yarl, "Don't ever come here again," and Yarl backed away from the door.
Still, Yarl testified that Lester shot him in the head as he was backing away and again when he was on the ground.
As he testified, Lester's defense team asked Yarl how he entered the wrong home and questioned him about "conflicting statements," he alleges Yarl made.
Steve Salmon, who is representing Lester, said Yarl changed his story about whether or not he tried to open the door.
At the hospital, Yarl allegedly told detectives he didn't touch the door.
He even asked Yarl if he could understand how Lester was scared.
The prosecution objected to that question, saying Yarl can't testify on someone else's thoughts.
Other witnesses who testified included three of Lester's neighbors; two Kansas City, Missouri, officers; one KCPD detective; a forensic officer; a crime lab analyst; an emergency room physician; a neurosurgeon and Yarl's mother.
Lester is due back in court on Sept. 20 for his arraignment.
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