Kansas City Chiefs

August trial set in ex-Chiefs RB McKnight's death

Published Jun. 12, 2017 2:28 p.m. ET

Joe McKnight played with the Chiefs in 2014.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The man charged in the shooting death of former Kansas City Chiefs running back Joe McKnight is scheduled to go on trial in August.

A judge in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna on Monday set an Aug. 7 trial date for Ronald Gasser, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. A conviction on that charge carries a mandatory life sentence.

Authorities have said McKnight and Gasser drove erratically and yelled at each other before the Dec. 1 shooting. The confrontation took place as they were traveling over a Mississippi River bridge in New Orleans and on roads in neighboring Jefferson Parish.

Defense attorney Gerard Archer has called the shooting a "justifiable homicide."

McKnight played one season with the Chiefs and three for the New York Jets.