A young man who killed a young father in front of the central library in East Village was sentenced April 11 to 21 years in state prison.

The family of the victim, Trey Walker, 20, sat in the front row while the family and friends of the gunman, Kenneth Miguel Chaney, 23, sat in the back rows in San Diego Superior Court.

Walker’s mother, Shelly Jamison, cried as she addressed Chaney, who was dressed in jail clothes and stood behind a glass module in custody.

“Kenneth Chaney is a coward who killed my only son,” said Jamison. “He was the father of a beautiful baby girl. It hurts so much he can’t see her grow.”

“You killed someone over a back pack! You don’t deserve to walk the Earth,” said Jamison.

Walker was shot in the neck on May 23, 2023, at 12:15 p.m. and later died in a hospital. A detective testified earlier the neck wound severed some arteries, causing his death in front of the library’s entrance on Park Boulevard.

The dispute was over a stolen backpack among a group of people. Chaney pulled a gun and fired shots, which caused everyone to scatter. A 24-year-old man was wounded.

Chaney reached a plea agreement on Jan. 14 with prosecutors and Judge Dwayne Moring in which a murder charge was dropped and he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Chaney also pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon to wounding a 24-year-old man, and pointing a gun at a third man who was not shot.

The judge ordered the murder weapon to be destroyed. The firearm was found by police to be in home of an acquaintance of Chaney’s.

Moring gave 791 days of credit for Chaney since his arrest and fined him $1,210. A restitution hearing was set for May 13.

Chaney’s attorney, Jessica Petry, said in a previous hearing that Chaney’s state of mind at the time of the shooting was “fear.”

She said the situation was confusing, and people were yelling.

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