克莱县检察官办公室宣布，对4月13日的一名嫌疑人提出了两项刑事指控枪杀16岁的拉尔夫·亚尔在密苏里州的堪萨斯城。
克莱县检察官扎卡里·汤普森(Zachary Thompson)在周一晚上的新闻发布会上说，85岁的白人男子安德鲁·莱斯特(Andrew Lester)被指控犯有一项一级重罪袭击和一项武装犯罪行为，这也是一项重罪。
警方周日表示，这名16岁的黑人少年在周四晚上被堪萨斯城的一名房主枪杀，此前他意外地去了错误的地址去接他的兄弟姐妹。
汤普森说:“他故意向[亚尔]开枪，造成身体伤害。”他补充说，第一项罪名是A级重罪，最高可判处终身监禁，而第二项罪名是一项未分类的重罪，可判处3-15年监禁。
汤普森补充说，已经发出了对莱斯特的逮捕令，保证金为20万美元。不清楚莱斯特是否聘请了律师。
代表耶尔一家的律师李·梅里特和律师本·克伦普星期一在接受美国广播公司新闻直播节目主持人林西·戴维斯的采访时说，耶尔一家对已经提出的指控感到“如释重负”。
梅里特说:“由于全国人民的慷慨解囊，由于密苏里州社区的挺身而出，由于所有全国组织者和表达意见的人，当地的检察官和执法机构似乎更加认真地对待这个案件。”。
该案件在周末引起了全国的关注，白宫向ABC新闻证实，总统乔·拜登周一与亚尔一家进行了交谈。
“今晚，总统与拉尔夫·亚尔通了电话，并分享了他对迅速康复的希望，”白宫周一晚间表示。
“拉尔夫今天刚刚与美国总统通过电话，总统向他保证，你知道，他和全国人民都致力于为他伸张正义，”梅里特告诉美国广播公司新闻。
拉尔夫的姑姑费丝·斯普摩尔周一在接受美国广播公司新闻直播节目采访时表示，在指控宣布之前，拉尔夫被一扇玻璃门击中头部，然后是手臂，并遭受了创伤性脑损伤和手臂受伤。
“他正在疗伤。她说，并补充说枪击事件也给这个家庭带来了情感上的伤害。
这些指控是在周末堪萨斯城爆发抗议活动后提出的，当时身份不明的莱斯特被拘留，然后被释放，等待堪萨斯城警察局的调查。
“我们理解这有多么令人沮丧，”汤普森说。“但我可以向你保证，刑事司法系统正在发挥作用，并将继续发挥作用。正如任何严重的案件一样，我们以客观和公正的方式处理这一案件。”
堪萨斯市警察局长斯泰西·格雷夫斯(Stacey Graves)在周日晚上的新闻发布会上表示，枪击事件发生后，嫌疑人被警方拘留，并被置于24小时调查拘留中，但后来在警方调查并向检察官办公室提交证据时被释放。
格雷夫斯周日表示:“在与克莱县检察官办公室协商后，房主被释放，等待进一步调查，因为需要从受害者那里获得正式声明，法医证据，并为提交的案件档案汇编额外信息。”
克莱县检察官扎卡里·汤普森宣布对安德鲁·莱斯特的指控，2023年4月17日，密苏里州利伯蒂。莱斯特被指控在上周16岁的拉尔夫·亚尔出事时向他开枪...显示更多undefined
查理·里德尔/美联社
警方周一下午宣布，他们将此案提交给克莱县检察官办公室;两小时后，检察官宣布了指控。
克伦普和梅里特在周一晚上发布的一份声明中说，这个家庭“对刑事指控终于向前推进感到非常欣慰。”
“‘拖延正义就是拒绝正义’梅里特在一份声明中说:“我们松了一口气，指控终于有所进展，但对于这种拖延感到失望，这种拖延迫使全国为这一明显的罪行大声疾呼。”我们对问责制和正义持谨慎乐观态度。"
梅里特说，拉尔夫周六出院，在家接受医生的照顾。他说，这个家庭现在希望“看到这个人被完全依法追究责任。”
“不管发生什么，我们很感激他还活着，因为考虑到他所经历的一切，我不认为做这件事的人打算让他活着，”斯普莫尔告诉美国广播公司新闻。"...我们感到不安和愤怒，但我们也明白事情本来可能会更糟。”
Prosecutor files 2 felony charges against suspect in Ralph Yarl shooting
The Clay County Prosecutor's Office announced that it filed two criminal charges against a suspect in the April 13shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarlin Kansas City, Missouri.
Andrew Lester, an 85-year-old white man, was charged with one count of felony assault in the first degree and one count of armed criminal action, also a felony, Clay County prosecuting attorney Zachary Thompson said during a press conference Monday evening.
The 16-year-old Black teenager was shot Thursday night by a homeowner in Kansas City after he accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his siblings, police said on Sunday.
"He knowingly caused physical injury to [Yarl] by shooting him," Thompson said, adding that the first count is a class A felony with a sentence of up to life in prison, while the second count is an unclassified felony and carries a range of punishment of 3-15 years in prison.
A warrant was issued for Lester's arrest and a bond was set at $200,000, Thompson added. It's unclear if Lester has retained an attorney.
Attorney Lee Merritt, who represents the Yarl family along with attorney Ben Crump, told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis in an interview Monday that the family is "relieved" that charges have been filed.
"Because of the national outpouring, because of the community of Missouri that stood up, because of all the national organizers and people who have lent their voice -- it seems that the prosecutors and law enforcement agencies on the ground are taking the case more seriously," Merritt said.
The case garnered national attention over the weekend, and the White House confirmed to ABC News that President Joe Biden spoke with the Yarl family on Monday.
"This evening, the president spoke by phone to Ralph Yarl and shared his hope for a swift recovery," the White House said Monday night.
"Ralph just got off the phone with the president of the United States today, who assured him that, you know, that he was and the rest of the nation was invested in justice for him," Merritt told ABC News.
Ralph's aunt Faith Spoonmore told ABC News Live Prime in an interview Monday before charges were announced that Ralph was shot in the head through a glass door and then in the arm and suffered a traumatic brain injury and an injury in his arm.
"He is healing. We are taking it one day at a time," she said, adding that the shooting has also taken an emotional toll on the family.
The charges came after protests erupted in Kansas City over the weekend after Lester, who was unidentified at the time, was taken into custody and then released pending an investigation by the Kansas City Police Department.
"We understand how frustrating this has been," Thompson said. "But I can assure you that the criminal justice system is working and will continue to work. As with any serious case, we approached this one in an objective and impartial manner."
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said during a press conference Sunday evening that after the shooting, the suspect was taken into police custody and placed on a 24-hour investigative hold but had since been released while police investigate and present evidence to the prosecutor's office.
"After consulting with the Clay County Prosecutor's Office, the homeowner was released pending further investigation due to the need to obtain a formal statement from the victim, forensic evidence and compile additional information for a case file to be presented," Graves said on Sunday.
Police announced on Monday afternoon that they submitted the case to the Clay County Prosecutor's Office; prosecutors announced the charges two hours later.
Crump and Merritt said in a statement released Monday evening that the family is "extremely relieved that criminal charges are finally moving forward."
"'Justice delayed is justice denied.' We are relieved that charges are finally moving forward but are disappointed in the delay that necessitated national outcry for an obvious crime," Merritt said in a statement. "We are cautiously optimistic about accountability and justice."
Merritt said that Ralph was released from the hospital on Saturday and is in the care of his doctors at home. He said that the family now wants to "see this man held accountable to the full extent of the law."
"Despite of everything, we are grateful that he is alive because considering what he went through, I don't think the person who did this intended that he will be alive," Spoonmore told ABC News. "... We are upset, we are angry, but we also understand that it could have been much worse."
