{"id":1460,"date":"2026-06-06T04:02:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T04:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1460"},"modified":"2026-06-06T04:02:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T04:02:50","slug":"jury-seated-in-george-pinos-boat-crash-trial-when-do-opening-arguments-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1460","title":{"rendered":"Jury seated in George Pino\u2019s boat-crash trial. When do opening arguments start?"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A jury was seated Friday evening in the case of Doral real estate broker George Pino, who is headed to trial in connection to a 2022 boat crash that killed a teen girl.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1458\">\u2018Tremendous loss.\u2019 Prominent South Florida real estate agent had giving nature<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Pino, 54, is charged with manslaughter and vessel homicide in the Sept. 4, 2022, crash, which killed 17-year-old Luciana \u201cLucy\u201d Fernandez and left Katerina \u201cKaty\u201d Puig, now 21, with physical and neurological disabilities.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Opening arguments are set for Monday at 1 p.m. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez is presiding.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The jury, selected by both prosecutors and defense attorneys, consists of five men and one woman. Four alternates jurors were also chosen; three are women and one is a man.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The jury has people of differing ages and occupations, including healthcare workers, legal professionals and tech specialists. At least one is an avid boater.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>During Friday\u2019s proceeding, dozens of potential jurors were grilled for hours about their thoughts on an array of matters, such as alcohol consumption, the age of the girl who died and Pino\u2019s presumption of innocence. The jurors were asked if they would be fair \u2014 and how they felt about criminal liability stemming from car and boat crashes.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Pino\u2019s case is one of the most anticipated trials in South Florida due to his prominence in the community, the teens on his boat being students at well-known Catholic private schools and widespread criticism of investigators\u2019 handling of the crash\u2019s aftermath.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Pino was driving his 29-foot Robalo boat through the Cutter Bank channel in Biscayne Bay back to the gated Ocean Reef Club in north Key Largo when he slammed into a steel channel marker, sending everyone on board into the water.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The seas were calm, and the skies were clear and sunny. But Pino told a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigator that the wake of another boat in the channel caused him to lose control of his vessel.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>No one, including any of his passengers or witnesses on other boats in the channel, saw that boat. Pino, however, reiterated his account, not only in the criminal investigation, but in a civil suit filed by Puig\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Pino\u2019s defense team, in a flurry of last-minute motions, sought to prohibit jurors from hearing about the other-boat theory. Tinkler Mendez denied their request.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><b>READ MORE: George Pino\u2019s statements about boat crash will be allowed at trial, judge rules<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1456\">Florida lawmakers describe Miami-Dade as the poster child for wasted tax dollars<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Prosecutor Laura Adams argued against excluding the statement, noting that GPS data from the boat showed Pino was driving at 43-47 mph \u2014 a fast speed on the water \u2014 on the wrong side of the channel. Pino, the prosecutor added, had nine seconds to avoid hitting the marker.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Pino and his wife were celebrating their daughter\u2019s 18th birthday on Elliott Key on the day of the incident. Their daughter and 11 of her friends, including Katy and Lucy, were on the boat. They were headed to have dinner at Ocean Reef, where the Pinos were members at the time.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Lucy died at a hospital the day after the crash. Puig, a soccer standout with Division I college prospects, is still regaining basic motor skills. Several other girls were injured but have recovered.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>After a year-long investigation, the FWC, the state agency that investigates boat crashes, recommended three misdemeanor charges. Had Pino pleaded guilty to those counts, he would have faced at most up to 60 days in a county jail.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But following a series of Miami Herald articles exposing flaws in the investigation, the Miami-Dade State Attorney\u2019s Office reexamined the case. In late 2024, prosecutors charged Pino with vessel homicide, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Then, last August, prosecutors charged Pino with another second-degree felony: manslaughter, which also carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. That charge came after prosecutors interviewed the girls who were on the boat, some of whom testified about the amount of alcohol flowing on the boat.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>One of the then-teens said she drank 10 beers on Pino\u2019s boat, as well as shots of other alcohol, sources told the Herald.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Early on, the FWC ruled that alcohol was not a factor in the crash because the lead investigator, now-Lt. William Thompson, determined Pino showed no signs of impairment. Pino told Thompson that night he had \u201ctwo beers\u201d and declined to voluntarily submit to sobriety testing.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The FWC found 61 empty or partially empty booze containers when they pulled the Robalo from the water the following day. Pino\u2019s attorneys maintain that some of those containers were placed on his boat while Pino\u2019s vessel was tied up to several other boats during their outing on Elliott Key.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Pino\u2019s legal team is seeking to prohibit prosecutors from mentioning that Pino said he had \u201ctwo beers\u201d \u2014 and that several girls said they drank on the boat. The defense also wants to shield jurors from seeing photographs of the alcohol containers. Tinkler Mendez has yet to rule on those requests.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=1455\">How DeSantis signed away $1 billion for state-run immigrant detention centers<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Six jurors and four alternates have been selected for the trial of George Pino, who is charged with causing the death of a teen girl in a 2022 boat crash<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Jury seated in George Pino\u2019s boat-crash trial. 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