Timeline
By Times Staff Writer
Published November 4, 2005
MARCH 31, 2004
ABOUT 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.
AFTER THE ACCIDENT
APRIL 2, 2004: Porter's attorney, Barry Cohen, calls the 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, in an arrangement with prosecutors that limits the amount of time she could serve in prison to three years. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years. Judge Emmett Lamar Battles ultimately has discretion to decide her punishment.
NOV. 5, 2005: After a marathon 15-hour hearing, Judge Battles sentenced Jennifer Porter to two years of community control and three years of probation .