MIAMI — Wednesday marked day three of the vessel homicide trial of South Florida real estate mogul George Pino, following emotional testimony and opening statements earlier in the week.
Prosecutors allege Pino, a South Florida real estate developer, was operating a 29-foot boat when it struck a channel marker near Boca Chita Key during Labor Day weekend in 2022, killing 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez and seriously injuring two other teens.
On Wednesday, Cecilia Pino, the wife of the 55-year-old, took the stand.
“(Lucy Fernandez) died because your husband crashed into that channel marker, right?” said Laura Adams during her direct examination.
After a pause, Cecilia Pino defied Adams by resisting her framing of the incident in her response: “She died because there was an accident.”
She told jurors she wasn’t looking when Pino drove the boat at nearly 50 mph into the channel marker.
“I was looking at my phone, trying to send a text to the moms ― a video, the video of the girls dancing,” Cecilia Pino said.
Pino was not asked whether her husband consumed alcohol the day of the crash, but did say she filled an insulated Yeti cup with prosecco and Chambord, a berry liqueur, for herself.
When asked how many of those she had consumed, she answered “one or two”. She was not cross examined by the defense.
A body camera worn by a marine patrol officer with what was then the Miami-Dade Police Department showed chaos unfolding at golden hour: Pino and teens who were thrown from the vessel were picked up by a good Samaritan. Two of them lay unconscious. By then, Fernandez was on another vessel. Pino could be seen in pink and white trunks.
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Deputy Robert Brutto said he saw Pino later that night with a bandage on his head. He told the defense he didn’t notice any signs of impairment.
Brutto said he also traveled nearly 50 miles an hour down Cutter Bank that day. The state pointed out critical differences, however, between the deputy’s actions and Pino’s.
“Were your emergency lights activated as you were heading up to Boca Chita?” prosecutor Laura Adams asked.
“Yes,” Brutto replied.
Adams followed up, “Did you have teenagers who had been drinking on your police boat with you?”
“No, we did not,” he replied.
Adams asked, “Did you have two beers while you were on your shift that day?”
“No, I did not,” the deputy said.
More body camera footage was played, including that of Fernandez after she was pulled from beneath Pino’s vessel and brought onto a good Samaritan boat. The sight of her on a backboard being worked on by first responders was difficult for members of Fernandez’s family to look at. Some were seen crying or covering their eyes as the video played in court.
Jurors on Thursday are set to take a field trip to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission site where they will be able to look at the damaged boat.
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On Tuesday, jurors heard from multiple witnesses, including the victim’s father, Andy Fernandez, who described hugging his daughter for the last time before what he called a “beautiful afternoon” turned tragic.
Testimony also included a passenger on the boat, who described the vessel capsizing and the chaotic aftermath in the water, as well as a civil attorney who referenced prior statements tied to the crash investigation.
Jurors were sent home late Tuesday afternoon and were scheduled to return Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct two misquotes. The word “right” was mistakenly attributed to Cecilia Pino, rather than the prosecutor, and a quote from Brutto regarding emergency lights has been corrected to note that he responded affirmatively.
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