A young man charged with killing a man in front of the central library in East Village in 2023 has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter as well as assaulting two other men.

Trey Walker, 20, was shot in the neck on May 23, 2023, at 12:15 p.m. and later died in a hospital. Another man, 24, was wounded and survived, and a third man was also assaulted.

The dispute was over a stolen backpack among a group of people and Kenneth Miguel Chaney, 23, pulled a gun and fired shots, which caused everyone to scatter.

Chaney reached a plea agreement on Jan. 14 before San Diego Superior Court Judge Dwayne Moring in which he will receive a stipulated sentence of 21 years in state prison, according to court records.

Chaney’s attorney, Jessica Petry, said in a previous hearing that Chaney’s state of mind was “fear.” She said the situation was confusing, and people were yelling.

Petry wrote the following on a change of plea form, which Chaney signed and initialed. “I unlawfully killed another person. During that act, I actually believed I was in imminent danger of being killed or suffering great bodily harm.”

Petry went on to state that Chaney felt the pulling of the gun seemed necessary, but added, “However, this belief was unreasonable.”

Walker was shot outside the library’s front entrance on Park Boulevard. A police detective testified earlier that the neck wound severed some arteries, causing his death at the scene.

The murder weapon was later recovered from the home of an acquaintance of Chaney’s, she said.

CAPTION: Trey Walker and his 10-month-old daughter. (Photo courtesy GoFundMe)