It was the first time Kordero Hunter’s family had come face to face with his killer, and the courtroom confrontation Tuesday afternoon was sometimes volatile, mostly heart-wrenching and often hard to fathom when you considered the senselessness of the act.

“My son had just turned 21 and you killed him for nothing,” Kevin Hunter Sr., tears rolling down his cheeks, voice rising in pitch and anger, said to Jason Shern, who stood a few feet away, a towering 6-foot-7 presence who wore faded blue jailhouse garb and a look void of emotion.

“We always told our kids to go to school and do what you’re supposed to do and everything will fall in line. We believe that. We believe in books over guns. Everything we did to get Kordero to this point you snuffed it out in an instant. Like it was nothing!”

Eleven days ago – less than 72 hours before going to trial – Shern pleaded guilty to the September 2011 murder of Hunter, a 21-year-old Central State football player from Chicago, and the injuring of two other people after firing shots into a crowd outside the A-List Lounge, a Ludlow Street club that was hosting a “College Night” for CSU students.

Shern had agreed to plead guilty to all charges – after a gun specification was removed – in exchange for a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. That made Tuesday’s sentencing in the Montgomery County Common Pleas courtroom of Judge Michael Tucker mostly formality – except for the statements of the victim’s family.

When Kevin Hunter concluded his remarks with a promise that his family would do all it can at future probation hearings to keep their son’s killer locked up, Shern’s mother, Carla Harbut, said, “No, God will decide that.”

That brought a response from Hunter’s family and some more pointed retorts and a giggle from Shern’s followers and the tension that had filled the court room from the start briefly amped up a notch.

There were seven police officers in the courtroom – including four Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies – and one officer told the crowd to say no more.

When Shern’s sister Darletta offered another comment, she was made to leave.

“I had said I would never set foot in this town again after he murdered my son,” Kevin Sr. said with a breaking voice. “But I needed some closure. That’s why I am here.”

Kevin Jr. felt the same: “Since Kordero was lost here, Dayton – and the state of Ohio in general – had kind of been off the map for us. And that’s unfortunate to say because I’m sure the city has a lot of good people and great things to offer.

“But when you come from Chicago, which is a pretty dangerous town itself, and when you come from a background of education and good upstanding values and managed to avoid the pitfalls back there, you don’t expect to come to Dayton, Ohio and lose your life.”

‘Burn in hell’

As both sides waited for the proceedings to begin Tuesday, Shern’s mother told followers: “ I can’t wait to see my son.”

That comment cut into Kim Hunter Bradley, Kordero’s mother: “I had prepared myself for the sight of Jason, but it was more difficult for me that his mother wasn’t able to connect to my pain. She was defending him and when she kept talking about wanting to see him, it angered me because at least they could bring her son in. I don’t have that. My son is gone.”

Although the Hunter family had researched Shern (they found that he had a long arrest record that went back to 2001, heard how police said he had a long association with a notorious local gang and heard about his actions the night their boy was gunned down for no reason), seeing him just a few feet away was unsettling for some of them.

“You’re facing the man who took the life of your loved one – you’re in the room with him and there’s nothing but space and you don’t know how to feel at that point,” Kevin Jr. said. “I found myself feeling a deep hatred, anger and frustration over the senseless of what he did.

“If just one thing had changed in his night – if he didn’t leave outta the club and go get a gun – my brother would still be here.”

Kordero’s mother was the first to address the court and she spoke about her son as an athlete, a student getting good grades and someone who had become active in the campus ministry at CSU.

“This was a senseless, cowardly act,” Kevin Jr. said. Someone with such a bright future was killed by a worthless human being … Words can’t express what I feel for you right now, Jason. I hope you burn in hell.”

Good person lost

Shern eventually turned to the Hunter family, apologized and said, “I’m not the guy you think I am.” He concluded by saying, “I understand how you feel.”

Kordero’s mother whispered back: “You couldn’t possibly.”

As Judge Tucker was going through the various charges, Shern turned to his family and blew a kiss. As he was led from the courtroom, he turned again, raised his arm up and flashed a two-fingered sign.

“I don’t know if that was some kind of peace sign or gang sign but he showed no remorse,” Kordero’s mother said.

At Judge Tucker’s prompting, the two families left the courtroom separately and were taken down different elevators some 15 minutes apart.

Outside the courthouse Shern’s family tried painting him as being victimized.

His sister Zaneta Shern noted he had six children, “some of them babies,” and they would be without him: “They made him out to be a gangster out there shooting people, and he’s not.”

Her sister Darletta nodded: “He ain’t an animal. He’s genuinely sorry for what he did.”

Shern’s mother claimed: “My son’s made a few mistakes in his life that he’s regretting now, but that’s no reason for anyone to judge him.”

Other friends said he didn’t do the shooting, a claim prosecutor Robert Deschler debunked: “He pleaded guilty to all charges. That answers that.”

Later, Kordero’s mother shook her head at the Sherns’ post-courtroom assessments: “This further supports that I think Jason didn’t have an upbringing where he was trained. He’s desensitized to violence and they keep making excuses. That’s what’s so hard to take.”

Judge Tucker had told the Hunter family he knew they would return to Chicago and continue their grieving process and they will, but they are doing more, too.

Kordero’s mother, a high school guidance counselor, started a foundation in her son’s name to help at-risk youth who one day could turn into a Jason Shern. For the holidays, they’ve also begun a drive to collect coats for the homeless.

“My brother was a good person who cared about others and that’s one thing that will never change,” Kevin Jr. said. “Unfortunately, though, bad things sometimes happen to good people. And this is a classic case of that.”