The Latest: Man gets 30 years in shooting of ex-NFL player

GRETNA, La. – The Latest on the sentencing of Ronald Gasser, convicted of manslaughter in the 2016 road rage shooting death of former NFL running back Joe McKnight (all times local):

10:25 a.m.

The man convicted of manslaughter in the 2016 road rage shooting death of former NFL running back Joe McKnight has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

A judge handed down the sentence Thursday for 56-year-old Ronald Gasser.

Defence lawyers argued that Gasser fired in self-defence when McKnight walked up to his car following a 5-mile confrontation that began on a bridge spanning the Mississippi River in New Orleans and ended with gunfire in neighbouring Jefferson Parish.

McKnight was a high school football hero at Louisiana’s John Curtis Christian School. He signed with the University of Southern California in 2006. In the NFL, he played three seasons for the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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10:15 a.m.

The mother of slain former NFL player Joe McKnight has tearfully confronted her son’s killer.

Jennifer McKnight testified about her loss Thursday during the sentencing hearing for 56-year-old Ronald Gasser.

She left the courtroom sobbing after angrily telling Gasser “You didn’t have to do that.”

Gasser was convicted in January and awaits sentencing on a manslaughter charge.

He killed the 28-year-old McKnight in December 2016 in what police described as a road rage shooting.

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6 a.m.

The man convicted of manslaughter in the 2016 road-rage shooting death of former NFL running back Joe McKnight faces sentencing in Louisiana.

Fifty-six-year-old Ronald Gasser could get up to 40 years in prison when court convenes Thursday in suburban New Orleans.

Gasser was convicted Jan. 26.

Defence lawyers argued that Gasser fired in self-defence when McKnight walked up to his car following a 5-mile rolling confrontation that began on a bridge spanning the Mississippi River in New Orleans and ended with gunfire in neighbouring Jefferson Parish.

McKnight was a high school football hero at Louisiana’s John Curtis Christian School. He signed with the University of Southern California in 2006. In the NFL, he played three seasons for the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs.