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.
FILE - Andrew Lester appears in court to answer charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action, April 19, 2023, in Liberty, Mo. (KMBC via AP, Pool, File)
DABROWKA, Poland (AP) — Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk traveled Saturday to his country's border with the Russian region of Kaliningrad to inspect progress in the construction of military fortifications along the eastern frontier, calling it "an investment in peace."
Tusk’s visit comes a month before Poland is to take over the rotating presidency of the 27-member European Union. Polish officials say their priority is to urge Europeans to beef up defenses at a time of Russian aggression and with change coming soon in Washington. Some European leaders are concerned that the incoming administration of Donald Trump might be less committed to Europe’s defense.
Poland's government and army began building the system dubbed East Shield this year. It will eventually include approximately 800 kilometers (500 miles) along the Polish borders with Russia and Belarus, at a time when Western officials accuse Russia of waging hybrid attacks against the West that include sabotage, the weaponization of migration, disinformation and other hostile measures.
“The better the Polish border is guarded, the more difficult it is to access for those with bad intentions,” Tusk said at a news conference near the village of Dabrowka as he stood in front of concrete anti-tank barriers.
Poland has been at the mercy of aggressive neighbors over the past centuries and has become a leading European voice for security at a time when France and Germany are weakened by internal political problems. Poland aims to spend 4.7% of its gross domestic product on defense next year, making it one of NATO's leaders in defense spending.
Tusk's government estimates that the strategic military project will cost at least 10 billion zlotys ($2.5 billion). Poland’s borders with Russia, Belarus — as well as Ukraine — are the easternmost external borders of both the European Union and NATO.
Tusk said he expected the East Shield to eventually be expanded to protect the small Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
“Everything we are doing here — and we will also be doing this on the border with Belarus and Ukraine — is to deter and discourage a potential aggressor, which is why it is truly an investment in peace," Tusk said. “We will spend billions of zlotys on this, but right now the whole of Europe is observing these investments and our actions with great satisfaction and will support them if necessary.”
He said he wants Poles "to feel safer along the entire length of the eastern border.” Tusk also said the fortifications would include Poland's border with Ukraine, a close ally, but did not elaborate.
Along the frontier, anti-tank barriers known as “hedgehogs” will be integrated with natural barriers like ditches. Tusk said parts of the project are not visible to the naked eye, but it is nonetheless the largest project of its nature in Europe since the end of World War II.
The plans also include the construction of appropriate threat reconnaissance and detection systems, forward bases, logistics hubs, warehouses and the deployment of anti-drone systems, the state news agency PAP reported.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, left, and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson sign an agreement during Thursday's summit at Harpsund in Flen, Sweden, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency via AP)
