Trial testimony: City man accused of shooting his mother had violent past

By MEGAN TROTTER
TribLive

Prosecutors on Wednesday set out to show John Malcolm Smith V had a history of violence before he allegedly shot his mother.

On the second day of the trial, Danita Jones and Sonya Peoples of the neighborhood “happy hour crew,” testified on behalf of their dead friend, Antoinette Porterfield.

“She was like a sister that I never had,” Peoples said.

Smith, 26, of McKeesport faces two counts of criminal homicide and one count of tampering with physically evidence for allegedly shooting his mother, Porterfield, 45, and her friend, John West, 54, at his mother’s home on Aug. 13, 2024.

The investigation

Police responded to a call at 4:13 p.m. of multiple gunshots along the 100 block of West 15th Avenue.

During a sweep of the residence SWAT found two victims dead.

Photos of the crime scene were shown in court. They showed that West was shot in the head. Across his feet laid Porterfield’s body.

Tierra Banks, who would stop by Porterfield’s house during the week to hangout, told police she saw Smith around the time of the murder. She said he ran in front of her car and down an alleyway.

She described his face as “deranged,” before he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head.

‘The happy hour crew’

During the trial, Porterfield’s friends and neighbors said that Smith had a history of being physically and verbally abusive to his mother.

Jones and Peoples told the juror about an incident that had taken place a week prior to the shooting.

A group of four woman — otherwise known as the “happy hour crew” by the neighborhood — would gather every night after work to drink and chat.

In the days leading up to the murder, the group told Porterfield not to come hangout on the porch because they didn’t want Smith around because he had been firing shots into the air.

Peoples testified Smith came over to the porch and got into an argument with Jones. Smith reached into his pocket and a gun fell out.

Smith picked the gun up and Peoples and Jones fled into Peoples’ house, where they hid for around two hours. Outside, Smith continued to shout and point his gun in the air, they said.

“I was so scared leave,” Jones said between sobs.

‘Possible blood’

The prosecution called three forensic experts from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office who tested the sweatshirt, two Timberland boots and a latex glove for DNA and gunpowder residue.

Allegheny County Deputy District Attorney Ryan Kiray told jurors in his opening remarks on Tuesday that video surveillance showed Smith wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt the day of the murder, leave his job, board a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus and arrive in Homestead.

During questioning, the forensic experts stated that the tests produced a series of inconclusive results.

However, Daniel Wolf, who is an expert in trace evidence, said that the items of clothing that had been tested did contain a single element consistent with gun residue.

During cross examination, Smith got forensic experts to admit that the element found in gunshot residue on the sweatshirt could also be found at a construction site.

On the day of the incident, Smith reported to at 8 a.m., but was fired from Gregory Construction at around 10:30 a.m., according to court documents.

Red and brown stains on the right boot came back positive as “possible blood.”

DNA testing of the clothing items yielded one positive match between the right boot and Porterfield.

“If they’re exposed to the elements there might not be a lot of DNA,” said Corey Lawton, a DNA expert for Allegheny County. “That is fairly common.”

The trial will continue tomorrow in front Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer Satler.