PORTER ASKS FOR COURT'S MERCY - Jennifer Porter, the 29-year-old former schoolteacher, pleaded guilty Tuesday to leaving the scene of an accident involving death, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
By Times Staff Writer
Published September 4, 2005
But a plea agreement with prosecutors assured her a maximum sentence of three years and the hope that a judge might give her less time for her role in the 2004 accident that killed two siblings - Bryant Wilkins, 13, and his 3-year-old brother, Durontae Caldwell - and injured two others - Aquina Wilkins, 8, and her brother LaJuan Davis, 2.
Porter's attorney, Barry Cohen, said he plans to ask at her Oct. 7 sentencing hearing that she serve no prison time.
"This is about acceptance of responsibility and respect for the mother of these children, the children that are alive, the children that are not alive," Cohen said, mentioning a March meeting between Porter and the children's mother, Lisa Wilkins.
Cohen said that Porter, while she was a teacher at Muller Elementary School, "taught her students when you make a mistake, you don't make excuses."
"You accept responsibility," he said. "This is the best example she can give them."
Revealing his strategy for the sentencing, Cohen said that "Jennifer is throwing herself on the mercy of this court and the community."
His remarks did not sit well with bystanders in the courtroom, many of who muttered under their breath and expressed disgust when they heard the terms of the agreement.
Keith Kirk, 22, identified himself as a friend of the children's mother, Lisa Wilkins.
"Three years? Come on," he said. "... You know if it was a black man, he'd be locked up. It's a white girl with money. They say money talks."
Reactions were similar in the university area neighborhood where the accident happened last year.
"She left them children to die," said Melinda Seward, sitting on the porch of an apartment at the corner where the accident occurred. "They will give you more than three years for selling drugs."
Porter was arrested after witnesses told investigators they saw a silver Toyota Echo matching the description of her car hit the four children near dusk along 22nd Street. The siblings had crossed the road to play at a local community center and were returning home. Porter was leaving her job as a dance instructor at nearby Muller.
WHARTON STUDENT INJURED AT BUS STOP - The parents of a Wharton High School student who was struck by a vehicle while running to her school bus are criticizing the school district for putting bus stops in unsafe places. Elysha Jennings, 15, was in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital after she was struck Monday by a 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser as she ran across 40th Street near E Regnas Avenue. Elysha's assigned bus stop is on the west side of 40th Street, the same side as her home. But her family said the assigned stop is several blocks farther from home, in an unlit location near drug dealers.
Elysha, a Wharton High sophomore, crossed to the east side of 40th Street all last year to board closer to home, her mother said.
The family wants to see more bus stops at safer locations on the west side of 40th Street.
ACCIDENTS AT USF - Back-to-school accidents meant traffic woes for University of South Florida commuters. USF student Catherine Fackler stepped off a campus curb Monday morning to cross Alumni Drive and was hit by a black Acura driven by 24-year-old Eddie Diaz of Lutz. Fackler, 33, was treated for minor injuries at the scene.
USF police Officer Mike Rapp drove his motorcycle to the scene and turned on his flashing lights. A 2003 Lincoln SUV, driven by 21-year-old Ryan Butler of Tampa, broadsided Rapp.
Rapp, who wore a helmet, was thrown from the bike and hit the pavement head-first. Rapp, 30, was taken to Tampa General Hospital, treated for minor injuries and released.
The accidents threw a wrench in traffic patterns on the first day of USF's fall semester.
USF police charged Fackler with not using a crosswalk, and the Florida Highway Patrol cited Butler for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.
