Andrew Lester, who is white, was charged with assault after Ralph Yarl, who survived, rang doorbell by mistake in 2023

An 86-year-old Missouri man died just days after pleading guilty to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the white man’s doorbell by mistake, prosecutors announced on Wednesday.

Andrew Lester of Kansas City had been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the then 16-year-old, who survived and is now a freshman at Texas A&M. Before his trial was scheduled to begin, Lester had pleaded guilty on Friday to a lesser charge of second-degree assault, which carries up to seven years behind bars. He had been scheduled to be sentenced on 7 March.