Andrew Lester, who was charged in the shooting of Black teenager Ralph Yarl, appears in court in Kansas City
Andrew Lester, who was charged in the shooting of Black teenager Ralph Yarl after the boy mistakenly went to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, appears for his initial court appearance before Judge Louis Angles in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. April 19, 2023 in a still image from video. Reuters

An 84-year-old white man charged in the shooting and wounding of a Black teenager who mistakenly walked up to the man's house in Kansas City pleaded not guilty to felony charges on Wednesday during his first court appearance in the case.

Andrew Lester would face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of first-degree assault, as charged, for shooting Ralph Yarl, 16, on the doorstep of his suburban home late last Thursday night. He also was charged with armed criminal action, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

He entered not guilty pleas to both counts during a brief arraignment in a Clay County courtroom, online court records showed.

With his attorney at his side, the defendant walked up to the bench with the help of a cane and briefly spoke with judge, video footage of the session showed.

Lester surrendered to police on Tuesday, but was subsequently released on $200,000 bond.

The ill-fated encounter occurred when Yarl had walked up to Lester's house around 10 p.m. to pick up his younger siblings, who were at a nearby house with a similar address, according to authorities.

Lester fired two shots through a glass door with a .32-caliber revolver, prosecutors said. Yarl, who was struck in the head and an arm, did not cross the threshold, and it was not believed that any words were exchanged before the gunfire, according to Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson.

However, local media, citing court documents, reported that Yarl told police who interviewed him at the hospital that Lester told him: "Don't come around here."

Thompson has said the case has "a racial component," without elaborating. Prosecutors have not filed hate-crime charges, which carry lesser penalties in Missouri than the two counts Lester faces.

The teen has been recovering at home, according to his family.

Lester was initially taken into custody, placed on a 24-hour investigative hold, then released pending an interview with Yarl and the collection of forensic evidence.

His swift release fueled days of protests.

In another case of a person being shot after going to the wrong address, a homeowner in upstate New York fatally wounded a 20-year-old woman on Saturday when she turned onto the wrong driveway while looking for a friend's home.

Two Texas cheerleaders were also shot northeast of Austin after they got into the wrong car in a grocery store parking lot early on Tuesday. In both the New York and Texas incidents, the shooters have been charged with felonies.

Ralph Yarl family lawyer Lee Merritt arrives for the initial court appearance of Andrew Lester in Kansas City
Lee Merritt, a lawyer of the family of Black teenager Ralph Yarl, who was shot and wounded by a homeowner after the boy mistakenly went to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, arrives for the initial court appearance of Andrew Lester, who was charged in the shooting, in Kansas City, Missouri, U. Reuters
Andrew Lester, charged in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, poses in his booking photograph in Clay County
Andrew Lester, charged in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, poses in his booking photograph after his surrender to the Detention Center of the Clay County, Missouri Sheriff in Liberty, Missouri, U.S. April 18, 2023. Clay County, Missouri Sheriff/Handout via REUTERS. Reuters
Kansas City man charged for shooting Black teen who went to the wrong house
Ralph Yarl, a Black 16-year-old who was shot and wounded by a homeowner after mistakenly going to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, holds a bass clarinet in this picture obtained from social media. Lee Merritt/via REUTERS Reuters