Man accused of shooting Kansas City teen Ralph Yarl to change plea

LIBERTY, Mo. (WDAF) – A man accused of shooting a Kansas City teenager nearly two years ago will change his "not guilty" plea in a last-minute hearing on Friday, multiple sources tell Nexstar's WDAF.

The trial for 86-year-old Andrew Lester, which was set to take place in just a few days, will not be happening.

It's something no one really saw coming until just a few weeks ago, according to sources, there was every indication that he was going to fight the charges against him for assault and armed criminal action. Lester's lawyer, Steve Salmon, even said at one point that from his view the state getting a conviction would be hard.

Nexstar's WDAF spoke exclusively with Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe, about the plea change.

"It's something that will still provide some accountability for what has been done, and also give Ralph something that he does not have to relive what happened on April 13,” Nagbe said.

In April 2023, investigators say Lester shot then-16-year-old Ralph Yarl twice — above his left eye and in his upper right arm — after the teen showed up at his house thinking it was the correct location to pick up his siblings.

A few days later, Lester turned himself over to the authorities and was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

Following the shooting, Yarl survived, and only a year later testified in a Clay County court.

He said that on the day of the shooting, he didn’t have his phone and couldn’t remember what address he was given to pick up his siblings, mistakenly going to Northeast 115th Street rather than Northeast 115th Terrace.

This led Yarl to Lester’s front door.

Yarl further elaborated, claiming that after he rang the doorbell, Lester shot him through the glass of his front door and proclaimed, “Don’t ever come here ever again.” This has raised many questions about racially motivated crimes in the United States.

A six-hour preliminary hearing replays in the back of Yarl's head. Nagbe shared how hard it's been on Yarl.

"He curled up in his room in a fetal position and he was in that position for a couple of days. That would be the primary reason why he would take a plea deal – just so he doesn't have to relive it, yes, that will be the primary reason he will,” she said.

"My emotion is mixed. It's anger and then it's 'thank God it's going to be over.'"

Over the last few years, Lester has been in and out of court several times.

Specifically, in recent months, a court found Lester mentally capable of proceeding with the trial after he received a mental health evaluation and his team settled a $100,000, “eyebrow-raising” civil lawsuit filed by Yarl’s mother.

The lawsuit became a piece of contention in the courtroom, giving the defense grounds to call Lester’s actions careless and negligent, as opposed to criminal.

Yarl and Nagbe provided the following statement:

"We trust in the truth, and we trust in justice. But real change happens when people take a hard look at their own biases and choose to do better. We hope this case sparks conversations that lead to action—because no child should have to suffer.”

The hearing will take place at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Clay County Courthouse, just four days before a trial was set to start on Feb. 18. WDAF reached out to the Clay County Prosecutor's Office and Lester's attorney and are waiting to hear back.

The judge will ultimately have the final say, including how much time Lester will spend behind bars, if at all. WDAF will be in the courtroom and will bring you the latest as we learn more.