Trial ordered for W. Phila. man in drive-by shooting

A West Philadelphia man will face trial on murder charges in the drive-by shooting that killed a mother of six the day before Mother's Day.

Isaac Porterfield, 22, was ordered held for trial Wednesday by Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Dawn Segal after a preliminary hearing. In court, the son of the late Yvette Saunders identified Porterfield as the driver who pulled up in front of his aunt's house in Southwest Philadelphia and opened fire, hitting Saunders, 39, in the chest.

Willie Sumpter, 18, testified that on May 7 he and his mother were talking on the front porch of the house in the 5200 block of Reinhard Street. Sumpter said Porterfield apparently aimed at him after they exchanged words over an earlier street brawl involving Sumpter's sister and Porterfield's friends. Sumpter said Porterfield fired five to eight shots but missed. One shot, however, hit his mother when she jumped in front of him, Sumpter testified. - Joseph A. Slobodzian