{"id":2904,"date":"2026-06-22T12:35:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2904"},"modified":"2026-06-22T12:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:35:31","slug":"closing-arguments-to-begin-in-george-pino-vessel-homicide-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2904","title":{"rendered":"Closing arguments to begin in George Pino vessel homicide trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<p>MIAMI  \u2014 Closing arguments will begin Monday in the trial of real estate mogul George Pino, who is accused of causing a boat crash in 2022 that killed his daughter\u2019s 17-year-old friend and left another teen disabled.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2903\">Air quality alert issued for Miami-Dade as brush fires continue to burn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Pino, 55, is charged with manslaughter and vessel homicide. <\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors accuse Pino, then 52, of being reckless when he lost control of his 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 Lucy Fernandez. Two other girls were seriously hurt, including 17-year-old Katerina Puig, who was left permanently disabled.<\/p>\n<p>The teens were on his boat celebrating his daughter\u2019s 18th birthday. <\/p>\n<p>Opening statements began with prosecutors saying Pino\u2019s allision with a channel marker happened as a result of criminal negligence and recklessness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLucy is dead because the defendant failed to do the most basic things that rules of the water require,\u201d Assistant State Attorney Laura Adams told jurors.<\/p>\n<p>Defense attorneys argue the crash was a mere accident.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe state admits this was not George\u2019s intention. He did not intend for anybody to be hurt,\u201d Pino\u2019s attorney, Howard Srebnick, told jurors during opening statements. \u201cHis own daughter, his own wife, his own body was on that boat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Defense openings were interrupted after Pino broke down for several minutes in front of jurors; the proceedings were halted and continued the next day.<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of the trial, jurors heard from some of the 12 young women, all teenagers at the time, who were on board Pino\u2019s boat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was George, and I thought he was dead,\u201d Claudia Portocarrero testified. \u201cI remember him, he had blood on his head.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some testified about the alcohol that George Pino and his wife, Cecilia Pino, provided, as well as the crash itself, but said they did not see George Pino drinking alcohol himself.<\/p>\n<p>Fernandez\u2019s father recalled the living nightmare he and his wife went through. Puig\u2019s father also talked about how the crash affected his daughter.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2901\">AP Decision Notes: What to expect in New York\u2019s state primary<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Jurors took a field trip to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission facility in North Miami to see the damaged boat and watched body camera footage from the crash response and Pino\u2019s questioning.<\/p>\n<p>But the trial was not without its moments of conflict. <\/p>\n<p>Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez issued a warning to Pino and his family for hugging in front of jurors.<\/p>\n<p>A tense exchange between Adams and Pino also drew the judge\u2019s attention after Adams brought up that Pino was reportedly muttering, \u201cIt happens, it happens, it happens,\u201d during testimony.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry. Do you have something you want to say to me?\u201d Adams asked Pino. \u201cWhy are you staring at me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pino denied staring at her.<\/p>\n<p>In another moment, Pino\u2019s attorneys told Tinkler Mendez that there was \u201csomething of a stare down\u201d between Adams and their client, followed by Adams \u201crolling her eyes\u201d at Pino.<\/p>\n<p>Cecilia Pino took the stand twice during the trial, recounting the harrowing aftermath of the crash off Cutter Bank. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe died because your husband crashed into that channel marker, right?\u201d Adams asked her during her first appearance on the stand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe died because there was an accident,\u201d Cecilia Pino testified.<\/p>\n<p>Cecilia Pino broke down when taking the stand for the second time, testifying, \u201cI remember asking again, \u2018Who is missing? Who is missing?\u2019 And that\u2019s when they told me that Lucy was missing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=2899\">Panthers acquire Brady Tkachuk from Senators in blockbuster deal<\/a><\/p>\n<p>George Pino did not testify in his trial.<\/p>\n<p>Jurors will be instructed on the law before beginning their deliberations.<\/p>\n<p>If convicted, Pino faces anywhere between 11 to 30 years in prison.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>Latest headlines from:<\/div>\n<div>\nMiami-Dade<br \/>\nBroward<br \/>\nFlorida Keys<\/p>\n<details>\n<summary><span>Cities<\/span><span>\u25be<\/span><\/summary>\n<div>\n<div>\nMiami<br \/>\nFort Lauderdale<br \/>\nCoral Springs<br \/>\nDavie<br \/>\nDeerfield Beach<br \/>\nDoral<br \/>\nHialeah<br \/>\nHollywood<br \/>\nHomestead<br \/>\nLauderhill<br \/>\nMiami Beach<br \/>\nMiami Gardens<br \/>\nMiramar<br \/>\nPembroke Pines<br \/>\nPlantation<br \/>\nPompano Beach<br \/>\nSunrise<br \/>\nTamarac\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Closing arguments will begin Monday in the trial of real estate mogul George Pino, who is accused of causing a boat crash in 2022 that killed his daughter\u2019s 17-year-old friend and left another teen disabled.<\/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-2904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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