La. Jet killer a ‘rager’
Driving offenses run in the family of the white Louisianian who admitted to gunning down ex-Jet Joe McKnight in a road-rage incident outside New Orleans.
Both Ronald Gasser, 54, who is claiming self-defense in the racially charged shooting, and his father, Ronald Sr., had histories of traffic run-ins, with at least 13 offenses between them, according to records reviewed by the Daily Mail.
Gasser’s father has had 10 trafficrelated convictions, all for minor infractions that include speeding, expired plates, parking on private property and disregarding a red light, the site found.
And Gasser has at least three traffic-related offenses. He blew a red light in New Orleans in 2008 and exceeded the speed limit in Arizona in 2000, according to records viewed by the site.
And in 2006, Gasser got into a violent argument with a truck driver at the exact same Terrytown, La., inter- section where he shot McKnight on Thursday, according to the local sheriff.
“He’d been like this. He’s been road raging,” said Mohammad Mussa, who claimed to the New Orleans Advocate that he had had two altercations with Gasser in the past couple years.
Mussa described an incident from Halloween 2015, when Gasser tried to drag-race him down a local highway. “I got to the red light. He started cursing me out and I started cursing him,” Mussa said.
A Sheriff’s Office vehicle stopped the fight from worsening, said Mussa, whose claims could not be verified.
On another occasion, Gasser again tried to drag-race, Mussa claimed, recalling, “He rolled his window down and he told me, ‘F--k you,’ and he rolled off.”
On Saturday, Gasser remained free and uncharged. Officials have yet to say whether Gasser’s gun is licensed, or whether Gasser is invoking Louisiana’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows the use of deadly force in cases of imminent danger.