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Events in Porter case

By Times Staff Writer
Published August 31, 2005

MARCH 31, 2004

Approximately 7:07 p.m.: Jennifer Porter gets into her Toyota Echo at Muller Elementary Magnet School to go home.

7:11 p.m. : Four siblings leaving the University Area Community Center just north of the school are hit while crossing 22nd Street. Bryant Wilkins, 13, and Durontae Caldwell, 3, are killed. Aquina Wilkins, 8, and LaJuan Davis, 2, are injured.

APRIL 2, 2004: Porter's attorney, Barry Cohen, calls Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Cohen leads deputies to the Toyota Echo in the Porters' Land O'Lakes garage.

APRIL 4, 2004: Cohen contacts authorities to notify them that Porter was the driver.

APRIL 5, 2004: Cohen holds a news conference with Porter, identifying her as the driver of the Echo. Porter makes a public apology, but says nothing about her actions that night.

APRIL 16, 2004 : Porter's parents refuse to answer investigators' questions and risk being held in contempt and sent to jail.

APRIL 20, 2004 : Porter's parents agree to answer questions, then fire their lawyer and hire Cohen. Porter says in an affidavit that she drove the Echo involved in the wreck.

APRIL 28, 2004: Porter turns herself in and is charged with one felony count of leaving the scene of an accident involving death. She posts a $7,500 bond and leaves less than four hours later.

MAY 4, 2004: Hillsborough County School Board suspends Porter without pay.

JUNE 3, 2004: Porter is arraigned. Cohen files a not guilty plea on her behalf, and she waives her appearance in court.

AUG. 30, 2005 : Porter pleads guilty as charged, under a plea deal that will guarantee she spends no more than three years in prison. Sentencing is set for Oct. 7.

Compiled by Times researcher Cathy Wos and Times staff.

[Last modified August 31, 2005, 18:19:12]