Andrew D. Lester, the octogenarian who shot and injured a teenager who mistakenly went to his door two years ago in Missouri, died on Wednesday while awaiting sentencing, the local prosecutor’s office said.
Mr. Lester, 86, appeared in court last Friday in suburban Kansas City to plead guilty to second-degree assault in the April 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a high school student who went to the wrong house while trying to pick up his siblings from their friend’s home, which was nearby and had a similar address.
Mr. Lester, whose cause of death was not released, was scheduled to be sentenced on March 7. He had faced up to seven years in prison, though the judge could have instead imposed a fine or a much shorter term behind bars.
In a statement, Mr. Yarl’s family said Mr. Lester’s death “brings a mix of emotions, but it does not bring justice.” Mr. Yarl, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, now attends Texas A&M University and is in the marching band.
Mr. Yarl’s relatives said they believed race played a role in the shooting. Mr. Yarl is Black and Mr. Lester was white.
“Some may see Lester’s passing as a form of consequence for his actions, but the reality remains: Ralph Yarl survived, yet justice was never truly served,” their statement said. “He has a lifetime ahead to carry the trauma of that night while the man responsible escaped sentencing.”
An official in the Clay County prosecutor’s office said that even though Mr. Lester had pleaded guilty to a felony charge, he would not be considered a felon under Missouri law because there was no final judgment in the case. The office will now ask a judge to dismiss the case, the official said.
“While the legal proceedings have now concluded, we acknowledge that Mr. Lester did take responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty in this case,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. “Our thoughts remain with both families affected by this tragic incident as they continue their healing process.”
The shooting led to protests in Kansas City and a national outcry, including an invitation from former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. for the teenager to visit the White House. It also raised painful questions about race in Kansas City, which has a long history of segregation. Many residents and politicians in the area said they believed that race played a role in the shooting, while the county prosecutor said early on that “there was a racial component to the case.”
Mr. Lester, a retired aircraft mechanic, looked frail in court last week. Wearing a white shirt and a dark sport coat, he sat in a wheelchair with his back hunched and his eyes often cast downward. During the hearing, Mr. Lester answered in a quiet voice when the judge asked him a series of questions about whether he understood what was happening and whether he really wanted to plead guilty.
His lawyer, Steven Salmon, had previously raised concerns in court filings about Mr. Lester’s physical and mental health. Mr. Salmon said last year that Mr. Lester had sustained a broken hip and had started having “manifest memory issues relating to pertinent case facts.” But after a delay, the judge ordered the case to go forward.
Mr. Salmon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Before pleading guilty to a lesser charge, Mr. Lester had been scheduled to go on trial this week. He had previously indicated that he would claim self-defense.
The clearest public airing of the case came during a preliminary hearing in 2023. There, Mr. Yarl told the court that he had pulled into a driveway at Mr. Lester’s home, thinking incorrectly that his siblings were inside, then rang the bell and waited. When the wooden interior door finally started to open, Mr. Yarl described placing his hand on the glass storm door, only to retreat when he spotted a stranger grasping a gun.
“He holds it up and says, ‘Don’t ever come here again,’” Mr. Yarl said in court.
