Andrew D. Lester mugshot/ Twitter
The white man who shot and injured Ralph Yarl is facing charges after celebrities and the Vice President raised awareness.
Vice President Kamala Harris and A-list celebrities including Halle Berry, Viola Davis, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Hudson, and Noami Campbell, along with other big Hollywood names, led the call for charges to be filed against the man who shot Yarl, the 16-year-old boy who was shot in the head after ringing the wrong doorbell in Kansas City, Mo.
The white man who shot and critically wounded Yarl was a free man and went unnamed. It did not take long for Hollywood celebrities like Berry to take notice and hold him accountable for his actions.
“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 on Twitter.
“Doug and I are praying for Ralph Yarl and his family as he fights for his life,”Harris tweeted on April 17, referring to her husband, second gentlemen Doug Emhoff. “Let’s be clear: No child should ever live in fear of being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell.”
Yarl is being represented by lawyers Lee Merritt and Ben Crump, The New York Post reported.
As of reporting, the white man, alleged to be 84-year-old Andrew D. Lester, got released on April 13 from jail after 24 hours of shooting Yarl, who rang his doorbell by mistake in an attempt to pick up his twin brothers.
Prior to the Black female celebrities who called for charges, on April 18, Lester got charged with felonies four days after he shot the Kansas City teen, The Witcha Eagle reported.
A warrant was issued for his arrest on April 17, and he is being held on $200,000 bail. Lester’s assault charge is a Class A felony, and if found guilty, he faces between 10 years and up to 30 years or life in prison.
“It was appropriate for the prosecutor to charge him and the only tragedy was that it took so long for them to charge him,” Crump said. “You can’t send a message to society that it’s okay to shoot Black people in the head just for ringing your doorbell.”
The shooting of Yarl, a Black junior at Staley High School, has racial overtones. He was shot twice in the head by the homeowner, Lester: once for ringing Lester’s bell and the second time after he fell to the ground.
Fortunately, Yarl managed to get up and called for help at three houses before someone came to his aid, family members said.
On April 16, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said investigators need a formal statement from the victim, forensic evidence, and other information to close the case.
Graves will also have to consider the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which gives people the right to use deadly force to protect themselves, but the use of force has to be proportionate to the level of threat.