{"id":2582,"date":"2026-06-17T12:34:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T12:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582"},"modified":"2026-06-17T12:34:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T12:34:03","slug":"defense-to-call-final-witnesses-in-vessel-homicide-trial-of-george-pino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582","title":{"rendered":"Defense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

MIAMI \u2014 The defense will call its final witnesses Wednesday in the George Pino vessel homicide trial, a day after Pino\u2019s wife and a couple of passengers onboard the boat that day took the stand.<\/p>\n

Read more FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F: Sweden gets 3 points<\/a><\/p>\n

Pino, 55, is charged with manslaughter and vessel homicide. <\/p>\n

Prosecutors accuse Pino, then 52, of being reckless when he lost control of a 29-foot Robalo boat in the early evening hours of Sept. 4, 2022 and slammed it into a channel marker near Boca Chita Key, killing 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez. Two other girls were seriously hurt, including 17-year-old Katerina Puig, who was left permanently disabled.<\/p>\n

Pino\u2019s wife, Cecilia Pino, told jurors Tuesday about the chaotic moments after the crash and said that afterward she was \u201cjust thinking of the girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Claudia Portocarrero, who was on the boat celebrating the 18th<\/sup> birthday of the Pinos\u2019 daughter, said she and her friends were singing and waving their hands prior to the crash. <\/p>\n

The defense claims something may have obstructed George Pino\u2019s view of the channel marker, but the state maintains that none of the girls were standing up or placing their hands up in a way that would have obstructed Pino\u2019s view.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just remember opening my eyes after the impact and seeing like a lot of white,\u201d Portocarrero said. \u201cAnd the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was George, and I thought he was dead. I just saw a lot of blood gushing and then my friends were telling me that I had to get out of the boat \u2026 by the time I was going to get off the boat it was kind of almost like turned, flipped, so instead of jumping from the boat, I practically like stepped into the water because of how tilted it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more A community of creatives \u2014 inside Miami Acting Studio<\/a><\/p>\n

Portocarrero said she assisted one of her friends in helping to keep Puig afloat in the water before a rescue boat arrived. <\/p>\n

Both she and another passenger who testified Tuesday said that while they each had a couple of alcoholic beverages, they didn\u2019t see Pino drinking and said the speed of the boat did not feel excessive at the time of the crash. <\/p>\n

A witness who was on another boat told the jury that his friend called out to Pino to check under the boat and Pino \u201cimmediately\u201d went under the boat and then pulled Fernandez out before handing her over to the witness who had jumped into the water.<\/p>\n

The witness said he then helped place her onto another boat that arrived.<\/p>\n

Pino\u2019s defense team claims the crash was a horrible accident and not the result of negligence.<\/p>\n

Read more FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E: Germany and Ivory Coast each gets 3 points<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/div>\n
\n
Latest headlines from:<\/div>\n
\nMiami-Dade
\nBroward
\nFlorida Keys<\/p>\n
\nCities<\/span>\u25be<\/span><\/summary>\n
\n
\nMiami
\nFort Lauderdale
\nCoral Springs
\nDavie
\nDeerfield Beach
\nDoral
\nHialeah
\nHollywood
\nHomestead
\nLauderhill
\nMiami Beach
\nMiami Gardens
\nMiramar
\nPembroke Pines
\nPlantation
\nPompano Beach
\nSunrise
\nTamarac\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The defense will call its final witnesses Wednesday in the George Pino vessel homicide trial, a day after Pino\u2019s wife and a couple of passengers onboard the boat that day took the stand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDefense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino - South Florida Moving Guides<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino - South Florida Moving Guides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The defense will call its final witnesses Wednesday in the George Pino vessel homicide trial, a day after Pino\u2019s wife and a couple of passengers onboard the boat that day took the stand.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Florida Moving Guides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T12:34:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e\"},\"headline\":\"Defense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T12:34:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582\"},\"wordCount\":518,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d1f2399c322403e4adecdc58dbfeaaa2.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582\",\"name\":\"Defense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino - South Florida Moving Guides\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d1f2399c322403e4adecdc58dbfeaaa2.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T12:34:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d1f2399c322403e4adecdc58dbfeaaa2.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/d1f2399c322403e4adecdc58dbfeaaa2.avif\",\"width\":700,\"height\":394},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?p=2582#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Defense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"South Florida Moving Guides\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/southfloridamovingguides.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Defense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino - South Florida Moving Guides","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Defense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino - South Florida Moving Guides","og_description":"The defense will call its final witnesses Wednesday in the George Pino vessel homicide trial, a day after Pino\u2019s wife and a couple of passengers onboard the boat that day took the stand.","og_url":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582","og_site_name":"South Florida Moving Guides","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T12:34:03+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/#\/schema\/person\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e"},"headline":"Defense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino","datePublished":"2026-06-17T12:34:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582"},"wordCount":518,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d1f2399c322403e4adecdc58dbfeaaa2.avif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582","url":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582","name":"Defense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino - South Florida Moving Guides","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d1f2399c322403e4adecdc58dbfeaaa2.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-17T12:34:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/#\/schema\/person\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d1f2399c322403e4adecdc58dbfeaaa2.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/d1f2399c322403e4adecdc58dbfeaaa2.avif","width":700,"height":394},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2582#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Defense to call final witnesses in vessel homicide trial of George Pino"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/","name":"South Florida Moving Guides","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/#\/schema\/person\/20969a46eb23057893f2f0726e65003e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com"],"url":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}