A McKeesport woman testified today that she witnessed a man shoot and kill her 18-year-old nephew last month.

During a hearing in Pittsburgh Municipal Court, Denise Love identified Vernon "Skip" Rodgers as the gunman who shot Derrick Smith on Nov. 2 as he sat on the porch of a house in the 1600 block of Sixth Street in McKeesport.

District Judge Mary P. Murray held Mr. Rodgers for trial on a charge of homicide.

As Ms. Love testified before the judge, Mr. Rodgers, 19, stood nearby, wearing a red Allegheny County Jail jumpsuit with his hair in braids. At least twice, he turned around to wave and smile at relatives sitting in the back of the courtroom.

The day of his death, Mr. Smith had told his aunt that he feared Mr. Rodgers, Ms. Love testified.

"He told me that this guy was trying to set him up -- to kill him," Ms. Love said.

The shooting occurred in front of a house next Ms. Love's home on Sixth Street.

Mr. Rodgers was arrested Dec. 3 after a three-hour police search at an apartment complex in Duquesne.

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