A judge ruled Tuesday that the man who shot Ralph Yarl, a black teenager who mistakenly rang his doorbell thinking it was someone else’s house, is fit to stand trial.
Defense teams for Andrew Lester, the 86-year-old who shot the teen in April 2023, had argued that his client’s mental faculties have diminished to the point that he lacks the capacity to understand the proceedings against him.
At his attorney Steve Salmon’s request, the judge ordered a mental evaluation of Lester.
That evaluation came back Tuesday and based on the documents, the judge said Lester was mentally sound enough to go on trial in February 2025.
Lester’s trial had been scheduled to begin on October 7 before his lawyer filed the motion requesting the mental health assessment.
That motion also described Lester’s many health struggles since the shooting, including heart issues, a broken hip and several trips to the hospital.
Salmon also claimed Lester lost 50 pounds, which he blames on the stress he has experienced because of intense scrutiny from the news media and death threats.
The attorney also said Lester has memory issues relating to key facts about the case that formerly were not a problem.
He said Lester thinks every pretrial hearing is the actual trial, despite being told otherwise, and believes that coins he purchased from a TV ad are now worth about $20 million.
Lester appeared in court last month pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in connection with the shooting of Yarl, who was a 16-year-old honor student at the time.
Lester shot him in the head and right arm outside his home in Kansas City, Missouri, according to police.
Incredibly, Yarl survived the shooting and graduated from high school this spring, but his family said the shooting took a big emotional toll and has filed a lawsuit against Lester.
The shooting shocked the country and renewed national debates about gun policies and race in the US.
Salmon has long argued that Lester was acting in self-defense, terrified by the stranger who knocked on his door as he settled into bed for the night.
Yarl showed up on Lester’s doorstep after he mixed up the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin brothers from a play date.
The teen testified at an earlier hearing that Lester shot him in the head and uttered, ‘Don’t come here ever again.’
Although the bullet didn’t penetrate Yarl’s brain, the impact knocked him to the ground. Yarl said Lester then shot him in the arm.
Yarl, who is now 18, told Good Morning America last year that even though he’s made a full physical recovery, he still deals with mental strains.
He said: ‘There’s a lot of things that are going on inside my head that aren’t normal.
‘I’ve been having headaches, trouble with sleep, and sometimes my mind is just foggy. I cant concentrate on things that would be easy to do.
‘I’m just a kid. I going to keep doing all the stuff that makes me happy and just living my life the best I can and not let this bother me.
‘Justice is the rule, the law, regardless of race, ethnicity and age. He should be convicted for the crimes he made. I’m past having any personal hatred for him.
‘He should suffer repercussions because that’s what our society is made of, trust in each other and reassurance that we can coexist together in harmony.’
