The man charged with shooting a Black teenager who mistakenly knocked on his door in Kansas City's Northland in 2023 will not face trial next month as planned.
A judge has ordered a mental health examination for Andrew Lester before his case moves forward.
Lester, an 85-year-old white man, shot then-16-year-old Yarl in the head and arm on April 13, 2023 after Yarl attempted to pick up his twin siblings from Lester’s house by mistake.
Lester later said he saw a large Black man at his door and was scared. He shot the teenager through a glass storm door and then shot him once again when Yarl fell.
Lester is charged with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action, both felonies to which he has pleaded not guilty.
The case caused a national outcry and protests in Kansas City, in part because prosecutors waited four days to charge Lester with a crime.
Lester’s attorney Steven Salmon filed a motion in August arguing he wasn’t fit to stand trial. In court documents, Salmon said Lester’s mental health has declined due to death threats, media attention and being separated from his wife.
Salmon also filed a motion in August asking for the jury to be sequestered during the trial to shield them from media coverage. That motion was denied.
In May 2023, the case was sealed from the public after a motion from Lester’s defense team. They argued that the high-profile case cast Lester in a “negative light” and would prevent him from receiving a fair trial.
Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson opposed the seal, as did Yarl's family.
After undergoing surgery to remove a bullet fragment lodged in his skull, Yarl recovered from his physical injuries.
This past April, Yarl's family filed a civil lawsuit against Lester and Lester's homeowners association, seeking monetary damages. The suit alleges that HOA knew of Lester's "“propensity for violence, access to danger weapons and racial animus,"
Now 17 years old, Yarl began his senior year of high school last month at Staley High in North Kansas City.
