The man who allegedly gunned down NFL and USC running back Joe McKnight was arrested on a felony manslaughter charge, Jefferson Parish (La.) Sheriff Newell Normand confirmed at a news conference on Tuesday.
Ronald Gasser, 54, was taken into custody on Monday and remained jailed Tuesday with his bond set at $500,000. Gasser was questioned for more than 10 hours by investigators since Thursday's shooting that Normand described as road rage incident that turned deadly.
Gasser was released from custody Friday morning as Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office investigators conducted 160 interviewers, recreated the crime scene at the intersection outside of New Orleans, sought video footage and gathered information from the medical examiner.
Normand said the delay in arresting Gasser was part of a strategy to get more interviews without tainted witnesses and to try to give prosecutors the best possible case.
“The Stand Your Ground law gives us an obligation to get it right,” Normand said. “For those who have criticized us – tough, I don’t care. I can put my head on my pillow at night knowing I did the right thing.”
Normand's news conference turned into a profanity-filled rant against those who criticized his department and local politicians who asked for patience.
Gasser remained at the scene of the shooting and handed over a semi-automatic handgun to the officers who responded to the shooting, the sheriff's department said.
“This isn’t about race,” he said. “Not a single witness to this day said there was one racial slur uttered during the course of these events. Unfortunately, a life was lost. But you want you know something, folks? Two people engaged in bad behavior that day. Why? I don’t know.”
The events spiraled toward a deadly conclusion when, according to Normand, McKnight cut Gasser off.
“Mr. Gasser said in his statement he was irritated by that and set out after Mr. McKnight,” Normand said.
The two began to confront each other verbally while still in their vehicles and the two began to drive erratically, cutting each other off as they drove through the suburban New Orleans town.
Eventually, Normand said McKnight “hemmed in” Gasser’s vehicle in between several cars at a stoplight as the verbal sparring continued.
“At some point, Mr. McKnight exits his car and goes to Mr. Gasser’s car,” Normand said. “There continues to be a verbal altercation. At some point in time during that verbal altercation, Mr. Gasser pulls his weapon from between the seat and console and fires three shots at Joe McKnight, killing him.”
Norman said a gun was found in the car McKnight was driving, but that it belonged to his stepfather and there was no evidence he displayed it or even knew it was there.
Thursday's fatal incident occurred at the same intersection where Gasser allegedly assaulted another motorist in February 2006.
“During this incident, the victim/reporting person, identified only as a 51-year-old white male from Marrero, called 911 in Jefferson Parish to report that a male subject was driving a red pick-up truck unsafely on Holiday Drive,” according to a news release from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. “The victim observed a phone number on the truck to call if the vehicle was being operated unsafely. When the victim called the phone number, an individual, later identified as Ronald Gasser, told the victim he was the one driving the red pick-up truck."
Gasser followed the man to a gas station where Gasser allegedly struck the man several times. Gasser was charged with battery, although the charge was later dropped.
McKnight was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft by the New York Jets. He played for the Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, both as a running back and kick returner. McKnight, 28, most recently played for the Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.
WWL-TV contributed to this report.
