A man who fatally shot another man in the middle of a weekday in front of the San Diego Central Library pleaded guilty this week to charges of voluntary manslaughter and assault with a semi-automatic firearm.
Kenneth Chaney, 23, is slated to be sentenced to 21 years in state prison for the May 23, 2023 shooting in the courtyard outside the library. Prosecutors allege the fatal shooting of Trey Walker, 20, arose out of a dispute over a stolen backpack. A second person was also shot.
Chaney was initially charged with murder and attempted murder.
During a preliminary hearing held last year, the man whose backpack was stolen testified that his bag was snatched while he was ordering food at a taco shop two blocks from the library.
The backpack owner, who said he was Walker’s friend, said he chased after the man he believed was the thief, eventually cornering him outside a parking garage.
Surveillance footage played in court showed a man wearing a pink ski mask — whom prosecutors allege is Chaney — pull out a gun and point it at the backpack owner. The two men spoke for a few moments and it was revealed that the gunman’s associate had taken the bag, the backpack owner testified.
They then agreed to go to the library to see if the alleged backpack thief was there and retrieve the bag, he testified.
While at the library, they encountered a group of people that included Walker, Walker’s girlfriend and a few other men. Some people in the group asked if the man wearing the ski mask took the backpack, according to testimony.
The backpack owner said Walker approached the man in the ski mask, who backed up a few steps, pulled out a gun and opened fire. The gunman then opened fire on the others in the group, striking one of the men.
A camera positioned outside the nearby ICON building caught footage of the shooter running west down K Street. The gunman is seen removing his ski mask and tossing it to the ground.
As he fled, a cellphone fell from shooter’s pocket. San Diego police Detective Conner Brown testified that after searching the phone, investigators discovered it belonged to Chaney. Brown testified that Chaney was also captured on other cameras in the downtown area removing and discarding articles of clothing that he was wearing at the time of the shooting.
Chaney was arrested two days after the shooting in the area of University Avenue and state Route 15 in City Heights, according to San Diego police.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 11.
