It took some time, but the man who shot and killed former NFL player Joe McKnight in a road-rage incident last December has been charged with second-degree murder.

Officials in Louisiana informed TMZ Sports that the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office investigation in conjunction with the district attorney paved the way for a grand jury to slap Ronald Gasser, 55, with a second-degree murder indictment Thursday. With the charge, Gasser faces life in prison and his bond was raised from $500,000 to $750,000.

Legal experts told ESPN that a critical point that went into the grand jury's decision revolved around whether Gasser could have possibly felt like McKnight was attempting to break into his car during the road-rage incident in New Orleans this past December.

However, the witness, Andrew Bailey, told ESPN's Outside the Lines that McKnight didn't appear to be aggressive toward Gasser before the former New York Jets running back was shot three times.

Bailey told the show that McKnight was "talking with his hands" and appeared to be having a "general conversation," adding that the ex-NFL rusher "never moved closer to the vehicle."

Despite the second-degree murder charge, there seems to be trepidation about what kind of time Gasser will receive.

Although Gasser immediately admitted that he shot and killed McKnight when police arrived at the scene, cops released the man, drawing the ire of New Orleans and a chunk of the country. In fact, it took a whole four days later for Gasser to be arrested.

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