Homeowner who shot Black teenager pleads not guilty

The 84-year old man who shot Ralph Yarl when the Black teenager went to his door by mistake pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a case that has shocked the country and renewed national debates about gun policies and race in America.

Authorities say Andrew Lester shot the 16-year-old honor student first in the head, then in the arm after Yarl came to his door because he had confused the address with the home where he was supposed to pick up his younger brothers. Lester walked into the courtroom with a cane and spoke quietly during Wednesday’s hearing, his first public experience since last week’s shooting. The case is among three in recent days involving young people who were shot after mistakenly showing up in the wrong places. A 20-yearold woman was killed in upstate New York when the car she was in pulled into the wrong driveway. In Texas, two cheerleaders were shot after one of them mistakenly got into a car thinking it was hers.

Yarl was shot at pointblank range in the head but miraculously survived the bullet. Only about 10% to 15% of people who are shot in the head survive, said Dr. Christopher Kang, the president of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Some civil rights leaders and Yarl’s family attorney, Lee Merritt, have urged the Department of Justice to investigate and for prosecutors to charge Lester with a hate crime.

Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher-level crime, allowing a sentence of up to life.

But Merritt said Yarl’s family is frustrated that Lester is out on bond and that the next court hearing is not until June 1.

Lester