Accused Shooter Of Joe McKnight, Former Jets And USC Player, Charged With Murder

NEW YORK, NY — The man accused of shooting former Jets and University of Southern California running back Joe McKnight in a fit of road rage was indicted by a grand jury for murder Thursday, according to the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's office.

Ronald Gasser, 55, will face second-degree murder charges for the fatal Dec. 1 shooting of McKnight in Terrytown, Louisiana, the DA's office announced. If convicted Gasser would face life imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence., according to the DA.

Gasser had been arrested and charged with manslaughter on Dec. 5, after he was initially released by police the night of the shooting. Since that arrest, "the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office continued working together in a collaborative effort to develop additional evidence regarding the case. Today’s indictment comes as a result of that joint effort," according to the DA.

Gasser was accused of shooting McKnight, 28, multiple times Dec. 1 at "the culmination of a road-rage incident," Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said in December.

Gasser fired three rounds, each hitting McKnight, who was pronounced dead at the scene, according to investigators. Authorities said Gasser stayed at the scene and handed his weapon over to authorities.

Gasser was initially released after he gave a statement to investigators, drawing the ire of many on social media and local community members. After Gasser was released Normand defended the decision by saying it would allow detectives time to collect more evidence and talk to more witnesses.

McKnight was unarmed at the time of the shooting. A gun was found inside the car McKnight was driving, but it did not belong to him, Normand said. The gun and the car were registered to McKnight's father, he said.

"We have no evidence to suggest that (McKnight) insinuated that at any moment in time during the altercation that he did (have a gun)," Normand said.

McKnight played for the Trojans from 2007-2010. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, for whom he played three seasons. He missed the 2013 season after being released by the Jets, then played an injury-shortened season with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014. He played this year for the Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

Patch editor Alexander Nguyen contributed to this report

Photo courtesy of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office