Former Jets and Chiefs running back Joe McKnight was fatally shot by Ronald Gasser in a New Orleans suburb Dec. 1, 2016. (Tom Gannam/AP, File)
A Louisiana jury found the man who shot and killed former NFL running back Joe McKnight guilty of manslaughter Friday night. Ronald Gasser, 56, faces up to 40 years for shooting McKnight, who starred at USC before playing three NFL seasons with the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Gasser avoided conviction for an initial charge of second-degree murder. Per The Advocate, Gasser will be sentenced March 15, by Judge Ellen Shirer Kovach of the 24th Judicial District Court in Jefferson Parish, La.
Per NOLA.com, Gasser admitted to shooting McKnight while sitting behind the wheel of his car as McKnight stood at the open window on the passenger side on Dec. 1, 2016, in Terrytown, La., a suburb of New Orleans. Gasser claimed the shooting was in self-defense and he did not testify during the six-day trial. Jurors watched about 12 hours of videotaped statements Gasser made to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, compiled from the night of the shooting as well as a couple days afterward.
Gasser had previously been involved in another road rage incident in 2006 at the same intersection. His defense attorney claimed that by virtue of the state’s stand-your-ground law, Gasser was permitted to use deadly force had he believed his life to be in danger. Gasser told police that McKnight had made “an aggressive movement” in trying to get into his car, which caused him to fear for his life.
McKnight, a native of Kenner, La, was 28.
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