National Football League

January trial scheduled in shooting death of ex-NFL player

Published Oct. 20, 2017 3:25 p.m. ET

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AP

GRETNA, La. (AP) Trial for the suspect in last year's shooting death of former NFL player Joe McKnight has been scheduled for Jan. 16.

Fifty-five-year-old Ronald Gasser faces a second-degree murder charge in McKnight's death on Dec. 1, 2016.

Authorities have said McKnight and Gasser drove erratically and yelled at each other in a traffic confrontation before the shooting. They say the confrontation took place as they traveled over a Mississippi River bridge in New Orleans and onto roads in a neighboring district.

Prosecutors have cast Gasser as the aggressor. Gasser's attorneys say he shot in self-defense.

New Orleans news outlets report the trial had been set next month but both sides requested more time to prepare.

McKnight played three seasons for the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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