ᑹ 7A
MOBILE REGISTER
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2005
Judge in Aruba decides about Dutch suspect today
៑
Van der Sloot may
be released after three
months in custody
By MARGARET WEVER
Associated Press Writer
ORANJESTAD, Aruba — A
judge will decide today whether to release a Dutch suspect
held for nearly three months in
the disappearance of Natalee
Holloway, a defense lawyer
said Tuesday.
Joran van der Sloot, 18, was
arrested June 9 along with two
friends, Surinamese nationals
Satish Kalpoe, 18, and Deepak
Kalpoe, 21, on suspicion of involvement in her disappearance. The Kalpoe brothers
were released July 4, when van
der Sloot’s detention was prolonged until Sept. 4, and re-arrested last week.
Van der Sloot’s lawyer, Richie Kock, told The Associated
Press that judicial authorities
informed him a judge would decide today on the detention of
his client in Aruba, a Dutch
Caribbean island where suspects may be held for up to 116
days without charge.
Van der Sloot maintains his
innocence, Kock said.
Prosecutors said Tuesday
they had filed a motion to keep
van der Sloot detained another
30 days. They must offer additional evidence against van der
Sloot on Wednesday or he
must be released, according to
Aruban law.
The Kalpoe brothers were
arrested Friday, when a judge
ruled that prosecutors had
enough evidence to hold them
for at least eight days while
AP photo
Jennifer Porter leaves the
courtroom after pleading guilty
Tuesday in Tampa, Fla.
Teacher
guilty in
2 hit-run
deaths
Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. — A former
teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday
to leaving the scene after her
car struck and killed two young
brothers and injured two of
their siblings.
Jennifer Porter will be sentenced to up to three years in
prison at an October hearing. If
convicted at trial, she could
have received a 15-year sentence for leaving the scene of
the March 2004 accident.
The children were struck by
Porter as they returned home
from a community center near
the newly opened elementary
school where Porter was working as a dance teacher.
Bryant Wilkins, 13, and his
brother Durantae Caldwell, 3,
were killed, and their 8-year-old
sister and 2-year-old brother
were injured.
“Jennifer is throwing herself
on the mercy of this court and
the community, and we hope
the court, after hearing all the
facts, will do what we ask, and
that is not to put Jennifer in
jail,” attorney Barry Cohen
said.
She drove to her parents’
home and did not come forward for five days. She said a
white van had struck the children first, throwing them into
her car, but investigators concluded the van was not involved. Porter has said she didn’t
stop because she was too
scared.
Find
Find it
it in
in
CLASSIFIED!
they build their case.
Holloway, 18, of Mountain
Brook, Ala., was last seen May
30 leaving a bar with the Kalpoes and van der Sloot, hours
before she was to end a vacation celebrating her graduation.
No one has been charged.
A third man was arrested
with the Kalpoes but his lawyer
said Monday that it was unrelated to Holloway’s disappearance.
Freddy Alexander Zedan-Arambatzis, a friend of van der
Sloot and the Kalpoes, was arrested on suspicion of having
unspecified “physical contact”
with a female minor, said his
lawyer, Diana Emerencia.
Zedan-Arambatzis, 21, is also
suspected of photographing
the girl in “tempting poses”
and showing the images to other people, Emerencia said.
The Kalpoe brothers and van
der Sloot are also suspected of
involvement in the incidents,
which allegedly occurred before Holloway disappeared, she
said.
Emerencia said Zedan-Arambatzis has denied having any
physical contact with the girl
or taking photos of her, but has
admitted to being present
when the photos were taken.
The prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the case.