Protests - Shooting of black teen who rang wrong doorbell

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As protests erupted in Kansas City over the shooting of a Black teenager who mistakenly rang the wrong doorbell while trying to pick up his younger siblings, celebrities and other public figures have turned to social media to demand justice for Ralph Yarl.

The 16-year-old, whose family members identified him by name, was shot by a homeowner on Thursday night. Yarl had intended to collect his twin brothers from a home on the 1100 block of NE 115th Terrace and ended up at the wrong address, his aunt, Faith Spoonmore, wrote online. The teenager was reportedly hospitalized with injuries in the wake of the shooting, according to The Kansas City Star. Officials have not confirmed details about his condition.

Actors Halle Berry and Kerry Washington called attention to the case on Twitter and urged their followers to urge law enforcement officials to hold the shooter legally accountable. They asked followers to contact Zachary Thompson, the prosecutor in Clay County.

"His name is #RalphYarl and I'm sick and tired of this feeling…my heart completely broke when I learned this precious 16-year-old, who accidentally rang the door of the wrong address in an attempt to pick up his siblings, was shot in the head ... by a man who didn't want him on his property," Berry wrote in one of several tweets shared on Sunday night.

Thompson released a statement on Monday saying his office had not yet received a criminal referral from the Kansas City Police Department regarding the case. We are actively working with law enforcement in an attempt to speed up that process," Thompson wrote.

Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King, called for justice in a message shared to Twitter about Yarl's case.

"That means the man who did this should be charged AND we need to work for the legislative and heart change to prevent these tragedies."

Authorities have not confirmed the number of times Yarl was shot, nor have they released any identifying information about the shooter. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has represented families of shooting victims in several widely-publicized cases, including those for Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Trayvon Martin, told The Star that he was retained by Yarl's family and, based on what they shared with him, the shooter is white.

"It is inescapable not to acknowledge the racial dynamics at play," Crump told the newspaper.

Charges have not been filed against the shooter. The homeowner was taken into custody on Thursday and placed on a 24-hour hold before being released, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a news conference on Sunday.

Graves said Sunday that the police department was preparing evidence for prosecutors, adding that the investigation into the shooting would involve examining whether race played a role. Investigators will also consider whether the homeowner is protected by "Stand Your Ground" laws, according to the police chief.

Prosecutors in Kansas City, Missouri, have filed felony charges against the homeowner accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who was shot when he went to the wrong house to pick up his siblings last week.

At a news conference Monday evening, Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced two felony charges against the suspect, Andrew D. Lester, whom he described as a White man who is 85 years old. The charges are one count of assault in the first degree, with a potential punishment of up to life in prison, and one count of armed criminal action.

"My heart goes out to the child and family involved in this case," Thompson said. He said the victim was shot twice, struck in the head and arm.

"The probable cause statement indicates the rounds were fired through a glass door," Thompson said, adding that it also indicated "the victim in the case did not cross the threshold."

He also said, "As the prosecutor of Clay County, I can tell you there was a racial component to the case," though he did not elaborate.

Thompson said the suspect was not yet in custody but a warrant had been issued for his arrest, with bond set at $200,000.

Yarl, who is 16 years old, was seriously injured in the shooting Thursday night. Yarl's father tells CBS Kansas City affiliate KCTV that the teen has now been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.

Yarl was meant to pick up his brothers from a friend's house on 115th Terrace, but he ended up ringing the doorbell at a home on 115th Street instead, Faith Spoonmore, the teen's aunt, wrote online.

She said a man opened the door, saw Yarl and shot him in the head, and when Yarl fell to the ground, the man shot him again. Yarl got up and ran from the property, but he had to ask at three different homes before someone helped him, Spoonmore wrote.

Kansas City police said they responded at around 10 p.m.

Police Chief Stacey Graves said Sunday that the homeowner was taken into custody Thursday and placed on a 24-hour hold, but was then released, in consultation with the county prosecutor's office, while the investigation continued.

"That means the man who did this should be charged AND we need to work for the legislative and heart change to prevent these tragedies."

As 16-year-old Ralph Yarl struggled to come to grips with being shot for going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, the white Kansas City, Missouri, homeowner who shot the Black teenager turned himself in on Tuesday.

Andrew Lester, 84, surrendered at the Clay County Detention Center a day after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He posted bond Tuesday afternoon and was released. Some civil rights leaders urged a hate crime charge, but Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher-level crime with a longer sentence — up to life in prison.

Meanwhile, Yarl was home recovering from his wounds.

“Ralph is doing considerably well,” his mother, Cleo Nagbe, told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King. “Physically, mornings are hard, but his spirits are in a good place. I borrow from his spirits.”

Nagbe said the trauma remains evident. She said her son is “able to communicate mostly when he feels like it, but mostly he just sits there and stares and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes.”

“You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again, and that just doesn’t stop my tears either,” she said.
The shooting happened about 10 p.m. on Thursday. Police Chief Stacey Graves said that Yarl’s parents asked him to pick up his twin brothers at a home on 115th Terrace.

Yarl, an honor student and all-state band member, mistakenly went to 115th Street — a block away from where he meant to be. When he rang the bell, Lester came to the door and shot Yarl in the forehead — then shot him again, in the right forearm.

Lester faces arraignment Wednesday afternoon. He does not yet have a listed attorney.

Lester told police he lives alone and was “scared to death” when he saw a Black male on the porch and thought someone was trying to break in, according to the probable cause statement.

No words were exchanged before the shooting, but afterward, as Yarl got up to run, he heard Lester yell, “Don’t come around here,” the statement said.
Yarl ran to “multiple” homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, the statement said.

James Lynch was the neighbor who found Yarl. He didn’t immediately respond to an interview request, but his wife Tiffany confirmed an NBC News report that said Lynch heard shouting and saw Yarl banging on the door of another home.

“I heard somebody screaming, ‘Help, help, I’ve been shot!’” Lynch, who is white, told NBC. The father of three ran out and found Yarl covered in blood. Lynch checked his pulse and, when another neighbor came out with towels, helped stem the bleeding until paramedics arrived.
The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. Civic and political leaders — including President Joe Biden — demanded justice.

Biden spoke with Yarl on Monday and invited him to the White House.

“No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell,” Biden said on Twitter. “We’ve got to keep up the fight against gun violence.”

“And Ralph, we’ll see you in the Oval once you feel better.”

Thompson said Monday that there was a “racial component” to the shooting. He did not elaborate. But Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Alexander Higginbotham clarified in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that “there is not a racial element to the legal charges that were filed.”

Still, some — including lawyers for Yarl’s family — pressed the racial dimension of the case.
The Missouri NAACP and other civil rights organizations rallied Tuesday at police headquarters with about 150 supporters chanting “Justice for Ralph” and demanding that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate. Lester, the activists said, received preferential treatment because he is white.

Bishop Frank Douglas of the Church of God in Christ, said the U.S. is experiencing its own version of apartheid and that if the shooter had been Black, it would have been ”lynching time.”

“We are putting a spotlight to what’s been going on for over 100 years,” Douglas said. “We got emancipation but we didn’t get love.”

The assault charge against Lester carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Lester also was charged with armed criminal action, which has a penalty range of three to 15 years in prison.
Charging Lester with a hate crime would have potentially meant a shorter sentence if he’s convicted, experts said.

Washington University School of Law Professor Peter Joy said the state hate crime law is used only to enhance low-level felony or misdemeanor charges, taking them no higher than a class-C felony level, with a penalty range of three to 10 years upon conviction.

“What the prosecutor did was charge (Lester) with the highest degree of felony they could charge him with,” Joy said.
Legal experts believe Lester’s lawyers will claim self-defense under Missouri’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows for using deadly force if a person is in fear for their life. Missouri is among roughly 30 states with such statutes.

Robert Spitzer, a professor emeritus of political science at the State University of New York, Cortland, whose research focuses on gun policy and politics, said the Missouri law provides “wide latitude for people to use lethal force.”

St. Louis defense attorney Nina McDonnell agreed. She said prosecutors have a strong case but the Stand Your Ground law defense is a “huge hurdle” to overcome.

“The defendant was in his house and has expressed that he was in fear,” McDonnell said.
By Tuesday morning, a GoFundMe page set up for Yarl had raised $2.9 million from 77,000 donations.

I have a hard time believing the shooter's house hasn't been reduced to cinders yet.

Wouldn’t be surprised if his property is being guarded by a bunch of good ol’ boys in white hoods.

565.050. Assault, first degree, penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of assault in the first degree if he or she attempts to kill or knowingly causes or attempts to cause serious physical injury to another person.

  2. The offense of assault in the first degree is a class B felony unless in the course thereof the person inflicts serious physical injury on the victim, or if the victim of such assault is a special victim, as the term "special victim" is defined under section 565.002, in which case it is a class A felony.

565.052. Assault, second degree, penalty. — 1. A person commits the offense of assault in the second degree if he or she:

  (1) Attempts to kill or knowingly causes or attempts to cause serious physical injury to another person under the influence of sudden passion arising out of adequate cause; or

  (2) Attempts to cause or knowingly causes physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument; or

  (3) Recklessly causes serious physical injury to another person; or

  (4) Recklessly causes physical injury to another person by means of discharge of a firearm.

  2. The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issue of influence of sudden passion arising from adequate cause under subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of this section.

  3. The offense of assault in the second degree is a class D felony, unless the victim of such assault is a special victim, as the term "special victim" is defined under section 565.002, in which case it is a class B felony.

(15) "Sudden passion", passion directly caused by and arising out of provocation by the victim or another acting with the victim which passion arises at the time of the offense and is not solely the result of former provocation;

This is Missouri's definition of first degree assault
https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection. ... on=565.050



First degree assault seems to imply pre-meditation. There is an "attempt" involved.

I fear the prosecutor is intentionally charging Lester with the wrong crime so he will not be found guilty of it in a trial. I fear his aquittal is being engineered by the prosecutor.
The actual crime that Lester committed was second degree assault, not first degree.
See here what the Missouri law says about second degree assault.

https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection. ... on=565.052



The "sudden passion" is the fear that Lester felt when he saw a black boy on his porch.

https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection. ... hl=565.002%u2044



So now that I see Missouri's formal definition of "Sudden passion" says it was provoked by the victim I think I might be wrong about all this. Lester wasn't provoked in any way. The boy didn't have a chance to provoke anyone. So maybe justice will be possible in this case.

I apologize for posting a case against the prosecutor when I didn't have all the facts yet. My bad. I also fired before I had all the facts.