MIAMI (WSVN) - A Miami-Dade judge denied a defendant’s legal team’s pre-trial motion to change the upcoming trial’s venue and to dismiss the manslaughter charges after hours-long back and forth among attorneys.
On Thursday evening, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez rejected both requests made by George Pino’s defense attorneys after listening to arguments from both sides.
“The court is going to deny the defense’s motion to dismiss,” said the judge.
With the decision made, Tinkler Mendez said attorneys will have an additional day, Monday, for another round of pre-trial motions before jury selection is set to begin on Monday afternoon.
“There are issues for the jury to decide and make credibility determinations and then apply the law as it exists to determine whether or not Mr. Pino’s conduct in this case rose to the type of recklessness to sustain a verdict,” said Tinkler Mendez.
Additionally, she rejected the motion to switch venues due to the defense’s claim of extensive media coverage and its possible impact on jurors.
“The extent of publicity. I don’t expect that to subside at all and that’s going to be something that I believe and I’m hopeful that the way I make jury selection, that we will be able to select a jury,” said Tinkler Mendez.
During Thursday’s session inside the courtroom, attorneys sparred over what evidence should be allowed during Pino’s trial.
Pino is accused of manslaughter and vessel homicide in connection to a 2022 deadly boating crash that left a 17-year-old girl and injured others.
The courtroom was packed with both supporters of real estate mogul Pino and loved ones of the late teen Lucy Fernandez.
Earlier in the day, Pino’s legal team and state prosecutors made pre-trial motions to Tinkler Mendez. The defense argued on Thursday that anything Pino said to investigators in the moments after the tragic crash should be excluded from trial because he hadn’t been read his Miranda rights.
“But he [was] never read Miranda. It’s undisputed, before 8:59 p.m. when all these details came out,” said Howard Srebnick, Pino’s defense attorney. “The fact that Mr. Pino may have revealed information about the details of the accident without being specifically prompted to do so, I think, is irrelevant here.”
State prosecutors, however, maintain that investigators followed proper procedure following that crash, saying Pino was responsive and capable of understanding his rights, arguing he was never in custody.
“It has to be that somebody has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way. To the extent that the police brought him from this horrific scene where the boat had crashed and there’s good Samaritans and there’s kids that are injured and people being life flighted away, he’s not able to go wherever he wants, but that’s just the circumstance,” said State Attorney Laura Adams.
Another issue discussed in court on Thursday was Pino’s sobriety. His attorneys maintain that he was not under the influence at the time of the tragedy, calling it no more than a terrible accident.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer took the stand to discuss his assessment of Pino. Srebnick asked him if Pino had shown any signs of impairment.
“Smell and odor of alcohol of Mr. Pino?” said Srebnick.
“No, sir,” said FWC Lt. Billy Thompson.
“Did you observe bloodshot eyes on Mr. Pino?” asked Srebnick.
“No, sir,” said Thompson.
“Did you observe any glassy or watery eyes from Mr. Pino?” said Srebnick.
“No, sir,” said Thompson.
“Was his speech slurred?” said Srebnick.
“No, sir,” said Thompson.
“Did Mr. Pino appear unsteady on his feet to you?” said Srebnick.
“No, sir,” said Thompson.
“During your interactions with Mr. Pino, did you observe any signs that Mr. Pino was impaired by alcohol?” said Srebnick.
“No, sir,” said Thompson.
At another point, Pino’s wife, Cecilia Pino, briefly took the stand, where she doubled down when questioned about the issue of sobriety.
“Did you have alcohol that day prior to the boat crash happening?” asked Adams.
“I did,” said Cecilia.
“Did your husband also drink alcohol that day?” said Adams.
“I do not know,” said Cecilia.
Still, prosecutors said Pino acted recklessly.
“It’s not that he had a higher duty of care, it’s that he became more reckless knowing that these factors were around him and yet he decided to traverse that channel in the way that he did,” said Adams.
The back-and-forth came a day after prosecutors showed body camera footage of Pino in the moments after the crash.
“The next thing I know, I hit the wave. I tried to swing and the right side of the boat, I mean the left side of the boat, hit the pilon,” said Pino on video.
Prosecutors said the video shows Pino was behind the wheel at the time of that deadly collision. His attorneys also want that evidence excluded.
As for Thursday’s court session, Tinkler Mendez predicted the trial would be “difficult.” She did not make a decision on excluding evidence such as mentions of underage drinking and photos of 61 empty containers found on board.
The judge expects opening statements to begin June 8.
Pino could face up to 15 years behind bars.
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