Family of Ralph Yarl Dissatisfied with Court Ruling in Shooting Case

Ralph Yarl

By: Adonis Armstrong

The Courier-Tribune published an updated article on June 6th, highlighting the dissatisfaction of Ralph Yarl's family with the court's ruling concerning the attacker of the young boy. In April, the 16-year-old Ralph was tragically shot in the head by a white homeowner in Kansas City, Missouri, who confused him for an intruder when he went to the wrong address to pick up his younger brothers from a sleepover.

Lester told investigators that he shot Yarl because he was “scared to death” and thought he was attempting to break into his house," explained Yarl's family attorney. However, Yarl, his family, and their attorney strongly refute these claims, stressing their disagreement with Lester's version of events.

Fortunately, Yarl managed to survive the incident, attracting nationwide interest to his case. Judge Louis Angles recently scheduled a two-day preliminary hearing for Andrew D. Lester, the elderly white man charged with shooting the high school junior twice. Accompanied by his attorney Steve Salmon, Lester made a brief appearance during which community members gathered outside the courtroom, showing their support for the teen by wearing shirts that bore slogans like "Ringing a Doorbell Is Not a Crime" and "Justice for Ralph."

Many supporters and relatives of Yarl, including individuals from the Liberian Community Organization of Kansas-Missouri, attended a court date in Clay County on June 1, donning shirts that called for justice for the 16-year-old shooting victim Ralph Yarl. The shirts bore the messages, "Ringing a Doorbell Is Not a Crime" and "Justice for Ralph." (Amanda Lubinski/Courier-Tribune)

Paul is urging prosecuting attorney Zach Thompson to improve communication with Ralph's family regarding the progress of the case, expressing a desire for more transparency. Additionally, Ralph's father expressed disagreement with the court's decision to seal Lester's documents, questioning the need for secrecy if the accused is innocent. The incident occurred when Ralph, intending to pick up his brothers from the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Terrace, mistakenly went to the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Street on the day of the shooting.

After the Clay County Circuit Court ruling, Ralph's father, Paul Yarl, shared, “He still gets headaches and pains and some emotional scars, but he's coming along. He's not there yet, but we are thankful for the progress." Paul added that his son is eagerly anticipating the day when he can resume normal activities, including starting his senior year. "He's been doing some schoolwork. His teachers have been keeping him engaged, so, yeah, he looks forward to getting back to school."

We hope Ralph Yarl continues to recover and gets justice he and his family deserves so he can get back to living his life to the fullest.

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