Ronald Gasser, the 55-year old man who shot and killed former NFL running back Joe McKnight, has been charged with second degree murder according to a report by Nola.com.
In December, Gasser admitted to shooting McKnight three times following a traffic incident, including one shot he fired from his driver's seat while arguing with McKnight who was near the passenger window of the car.
He was originally arrested on December 5th for manslaughter but a grand jury has now decided to upgrade the charge to second degree murder following further investigation by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in collaboration with the D.A.
"What we had were two adult males engaged in unacceptable behavior, (who) did not understand how to deal with conflict resolution, and this thing went to a point that unfortunately led to incredibly tragic consequences over bad driving behavior and bad spoken words," Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said during a press conference immediately following Gasser's arrest.
"Our arrest is only as good as a prosecution," Normand said. "We accomplish nothing if we make an arrest and we can't put ourselves in the best posture to reach a successful prosecution."
The judge subsequently raised Gasser's bond from $500,000 to $750,000.
If he is convicted of the charges he faces life in prison.
