Not guilty plea from man accused of fatally shooting CFL player McKnight
GRETNA, La. — The man accused of fatally shooting CFL player Joe McKnight formally pleaded not guilty Monday to a second-degree murder charge.
Ronald Gasser, 55, of Terrytown, had initially been arrested on a manslaughter charge following McKnight’s Dec. 1 death. Last week, he was indicted on a second-degree murder charge, which carries a mandatory life sentence. He’s jailed on US$750,000 bond.
“It was a case of justifiable homicide,” defence attorney Gerard Archer told reporters after a brief arraignment hearing at the Jefferson Parish Courthouse in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna.
Authorities have said the 28-year-old McKnight, who was black, and Gasser, who is white, were driving erratically and yelling at each other prior to the shooting. The confrontation took place as they were travelling over the Mississippi River on a heavily travelled bridge that links downtown New Orleans to its west bank and adjoining suburbs in neighbouring Jefferson Parish.