White Kansas City man who shot Black teen Ralph Yarl faces preliminary hearing this week

Andrew “Dan” Lester, 84, has a preliminary hearing in Clay County Court on Thursday and Friday, where the high-profile case will be held with limited media coverage and a gag on what attorneys can say outside of court.
Senior year of high school. Playing clarinet in the band. College visits.

Ralph Yarl and his family want the most normal year possible for the 17-year-old’s last year at Staley High School. But four months after being shot during an incident that garnered national attention, drawing responses from celebrities and the White House, Yarl faces some tasks other seniors don't.

This week, that means taking a day off of school to attend a preliminary hearing in Clay County Court for Andrew “Dan” Lester, the white 84-year-old Northland man accused of shooting Yarl. The Black teen mistakenly rang Lester’s doorbell in April when he went to the wrong address.

The hearing starts Thursday at the courthouse in Liberty. Yarl is expected to attend Friday’s hearing with one of his attorneys, Lee Merritt.