Judge orders psychological evaluation for white homeowner who shot Ralph Yarl

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Judge orders psychological evaluation for white homeowner who shot Ralph Yarl

2024-09-10 00:18 Last Updated At：00:32

A judge has ordered a mental evaluation and delayed the trial of an 85-year-old white man who shot Ralph Yarl after the teenage Black honor student came to his Kansas City, Missouri, home by mistake.

Andrew Lester’s lawyer requested the evaluation last month, saying the retired aircraft mechanic's health has deteriorated so much that he now lacks the capacity to understand the proceedings against him or to assist in his own defense. The prosecution didn’t object to the request.

The trial of Lester had been scheduled to begin Oct. 7. Instead, there will be a hearing the following day.

Lester has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the April 13, 2023, shooting of Yarl, then 16. Yarl survived the shooting and graduated from high school in the spring. But his family said the shooting took a big emotional toll and has filed a lawsuit against Lester.

The shooting shocked the country and renewed national debates about gun policies and race in the U.S.

Attorney Steve Salmon has long argued that Lester was acting in self-defense, terrified by the stranger who knocked on his door as he settled into bed for the night.

Yarl showed up on Lester’s doorstep after he mixed up the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin siblings. Yarl testified at an earlier hearing that Lester shot him in the head and uttered, “Don’t come here ever again.” Although the bullet didn’t penetrate Yarl’s brain, the impact knocked him to the ground. Yarl said Lester then shot him in the arm.

In the ensuing months, Lester has had heart issues, a broken hip and hospitalizations, Salmon said. Lester also has lost 50 pounds (23 kilograms), which Salmon blames on the stress he has experienced because of intense scrutiny from the news media and death threats.

A week after Spain's floods, families hold out hope that missing loved ones are alive

2024-11-06 01:06 Last Updated At：01:11

SEDAVI, Spain (AP) — Francisco Murgui went out to try to salvage his motorbike when the water started to rise.

He never came back.

One week after catastrophic flooding devasted eastern Spain, María Murgui still holds out hope that her father is alive and among the unknown number of the missing.

“He was like many people in town who went out to get their car or motorbike to safety,” the 27-year-old told The Associated Press. “The flash flood caught him outside, and he had to cling to a tree in order to escape drowning. He called us to tell us he was fine, that we shouldn’t worry.”

But when María set out into the streets of Sedaví to try to rescue him from the water washing away everything in its path, he was nowhere to be found.

“He held up until 1 in the morning,” she said. “By 2, I went outside with a neighbor and a rope to try to locate him. But we couldn’t find him. And since then, we haven’t heard anything about him.”

At least 218 have been confirmed dead after a deluge caused by heavy rains late on Oct. 29 and the next morning swamped entire communities, mostly in Spain's Valencia region. Most people were caught off guard. Regional authorities have been heavily criticized for having issued alerts to mobile phones some two hours after the disaster had started.

Authorities have yet to any give an estimate of the missing. Spanish state broadcaster RTVE shows a steady stream of appeals by people searching for family members.

María Murgui herself has posted a missing person’s message on social media with a photo of her father, a 57-year-old retiree.

“This is like riding a rollercoaster. Sometimes I feel very bad and sometimes I feel better. I try to stay positive,” she said. “This truly is madness. We don’t know what else to do. Neither does anybody else in town.”

Meanwhile, the gargantuan recovery efforts in Sedaví and dozens of other communities slowly moved forward.

The central government on Tuesday approved a 10.6-billion-euro ($11.6-billion) relief package for 78 communities where at least one person has died the floods. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez compared it to the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The package includes direct payments of 20,000 euros to 60,000 euros to owners of damaged homes, and financial aid for businesses and municipal governments.

“We have a lot of work left to do, and we know it,” Sánchez said.

Sánchez said he will ask the European Union to help pay for the relief, saying “it is time for the European Union to help.”

The floods have left behind post-apocalyptic scenes.

In town after town, streets are still covered with thick brown mud and mounds of ruined belongings, clumps of rotting vegetation and wrecked vehicles. A stench arises from the muck.

In many places, people still face shortages of basic goods, and lines form at impromptu emergency kitchens and stands handing out food. Water is running again but authorities say it is not fit for drinking.

The ground floors of thousands of homes have been ruined. It is feared that inside some of the vehicles that were washed away or trapped in underground garages there could be bodies waiting to be recovered.

Thousands of soldiers are working with firefighters and police reinforcements in the immense emergency response. Officers and troops are searching in destroyed homes, and in the countless cars strewn across highways and streets or lodged in the mud in canals and gorges.

Authorities are worried about other health problems in the aftermath of the deadliest natural disaster in Spain's recent history. They have urged people to get tetanus shots, to treat any wounds to prevent infections and to clean the mud from their skin. Many people wear face masks.

Thousands of volunteers are helping out, but frustration over the crisis management boiled over on Sunday when a crowd in hard-hit Paiporta hurled mud and other objects at Spain’s royals, Sánchez and regional officials. It was their first visit to the epicenter of the flood damage.

Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.