White man pleads not guilty to 'road rage murder' of NFL star Joe McKnight because he believes the shooting was justified

  • Ronald Gasser, 55, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder on Monday
  • He shot Joe McKnight, a former NFL running back, three times on December 1
  • Gasser says it was justified because McKnight was trying to climb into his car
  • The pair had been driving erratically and arguing before the killing, cops say
  • Gasser's manslaughter charge was changed to murder after public outcry
  • If convicted he faces life in prison without parole or probation 

By Associated Press and James Wilkinson For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:57 EST, 6 February 2017 | Updated: 15:31 EST, 6 February 2017

Pleading: Ronald Gasser, 55, has pleaded not guilty to murdering ex-NFL player Joe McKnight in December. He shot McKnight three times after a road altercation

Pleading: Ronald Gasser, 55, has pleaded not guilty to murdering ex-NFL player Joe McKnight in December. He shot McKnight three times after a road altercation

The white man who shot former NFL running back Joe McKnight three times in an alleged road-rage incident on December 1 has pleaded not guilty to murder, saying the shooting was justified.

Ronald Gasser, 55, of Terrytown, was initially charged with manslaughter for gunning down McKnight in a New Orleans suburb, but last week he was indicted on a second-degree murder charge.

On Monday Gasser, clad in chains and an orange jumpsuit, told an arraignment hearing that he was not guilty of murdering McKnight. Instead, he and his lawyer say, he acted in self-defense.

'It was a case of justifiable homicide,' defense attorney Gerard Archer said after the brief hearing at the Jefferson Parish Courthouse in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna.

He claims that McKnight had attempted to enter Gasser's car through the passenger-side window after the pair became engaged in an argument on a New Orleans road.

If Gasser is convicted of murdering the young black man he faces a mandatory life sentence without possibility of parole, probation or suspended sentence. 

Also on Monday, Goetz addressed a motion made on Thursday to suppress evidence, including Gasser's confession to police during 12 hours of interviews between the shooting and his arrest on December 5.

Dead: Gasser says McKnight, 28, attempted to climb into his vehicle, and so he shot him in self-defense. Police claim that Gasser murdered McKnight in a road rage attack 

Dead: Gasser says McKnight, 28, attempted to climb into his vehicle, and so he shot him in self-defense. Police claim that Gasser murdered McKnight in a road rage attack 

Goetz claimed that the interviews were obtained 'unlawfully and illegally' because Gasser was not read his Miranda rights, which include the right to remain silent, according to NOLA.com.

They also said they were not given the prosecutors' discovery inventory, including coroners' reports, prior to the indictment.

They said that 'should [the prosecution's] information be any different than what we've put in our motion,' they would modify it.

According to police, McKnight, who was 28, and Gasser, had been driving erratically and shouting at each other as they drove over the busy bridge that links downtown New Orleans to its west bank and adjoining suburbs in neighboring Jefferson Parish.

Both vehicles stopped once over the bright and McKnight went over to Gasser's car, police say - at which point Gasser shot him three times, killing him.

That, Archer and co-defense counsel Matthew Goetz say, is because McKnight tried to climb into Gasser's car.

They denied that the shooting was racially motivated, and that Gasser knew McKnight prior to the killing.  

The pair also noted that Gasser stayed on the scene after the shooting and said he cooperated with police.  

Arrested: Gasser, seen here having been detained after the shooting, complied with police. But his attorneys say that police failed to Mirandize him prior to a series of interviews

Arrested: Gasser, seen here having been detained after the shooting, complied with police. But his attorneys say that police failed to Mirandize him prior to a series of interviews

Gasser's charge was changed from manslaughter to second-degree murder last Thursday, after public outrage at the killing.

'The facts have not changed,' Archer said. 'However with the grand jury indictment the DA's office presented evidence to the grand jury to supersede proceedings.

'What was presented I don't know, but we will find out.'

McKnight was considered the number-one running back recruit in the country when he came out of John Curtis Christian School in Louisiana in 2006.

He signed with the University of Southern California, where he ran for 2,213 yards and 13 touchdowns and caught 66 passes for 542 yards and two scores in three seasons.

In the NFL, he played three seasons for the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs. 

He spent the past season in the Canadian Football League, playing two games for the Edmonton Eskimos and three for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Gasser is currently jailed on $750,000 bond. 

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