Confused & Frail Kansas City Suspect In Teen Shooting Pleads Not Guilty

By now now you've seen this headline we just want to document it for the blog.

Also . . .

NOTICE LITTLE ACKNOWLEDGMENT BY ACTIVISTS AND OPPONENTS ON THE OTHER SIDE FOR THE OLD MAN'S OBVIOUSLY DIMINISHED CONDITION!!!

Again, we're not excusing anyone's actions or responsibility. But the context is part of reality and the facts of this case . . .

"Andrew D. Lester, stooped over and using a cane, shuffled up to the bench and acknowledged Clay County Judge Louis Angles’ questions with “OK.” He appeared slightly confused during the three-minute hearing, and at one point told the judge, “I won’t be staying there,” referring to his Northland home where the shooting took place."

Still . . . There is a denial of the very obvious . . .

Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney representing Yarl’s family said he noticed Lester’s confusing-sounding comments, but believes Lester is aware of his actions.

“When the judge asked him to move to one location, he was able to communicate with his attorney,” Merritt said. “There didn't, to me, appear any diminished mental capacity that would explain his actions."

Merritt also told reporters before the hearing that the family was happy to be at the first step in the judicial process for the shooting.

“I want him to spend the rest of his life in prison," Merritt said of Lester. "All of his assets are going to become Ralph’s."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Andrew Lester, white Kansas City man who shot Ralph Yarl, pleads not guilty to felony charges

Andrew D. Lester appeared for a three-minute hearing at the Clay County Courthouse for a formal reading of his two felony charges, first degree assault and armed criminal action. Meanwhile, Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing the teen's family, said the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the shooting as a federal hate crime.

Andrew Lester pleads not guilty to charges in Ralph Yarl shooting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The man charged with two felonies in the shooting of a 16-year-old Staley High School student has pleaded not guilty. Andrew Lester appeared in person for an arraignment hearing at the Clay County Courthouse in front of Judge Louis Angles, entering his plea concerning charges of armed criminal action and first-degree assault.

Kansas City man charged in Ralph Yarl shooting pleads not guilty

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An 84-year-old man charged in the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl appeared in court Wednesday. Andrew Lester was charged Monday with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in Clay County. He surrendered on Tuesday at the county jail; later that day, Lester posted bond and was released from custody.

Developing . . .