MIAMI (WSVN) - Defense attorneys for the prominent real estate developer accused of causing a deadly boating accident in 2022 are making their case in court, as his criminal trial enters its seventh day.
Tuesday morning, the defense for George Pino presented their first witnesses, one day after the state rested its case.
One of them, Claudia Portocarrero, was on board the boat involved in the Labor Day weekend crash that claimed the life of 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez. The witness described what she saw and heard in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
“I just remember opening my eyes after the impact and seeing, like, a lot of white, and the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was George, and I thought he was dead,” said Portocarrero as she held back tears. “I saw a lot of blood rushing, and then my friends were telling me that I had to get out of the boat.”
Portocarrero and Natalia Reed, who also took the stand, said they grew up with Fernandez.
“This was your friend, Lucy?” said defense attorney Jeanelle Gomez.
“Yes,” said Portocarrero.
“You knew her for how long?” asked Gomez.
“My whole life, since I was 4 [years old],” said Portocarrero.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” said Gomez.
“Thank you,” said Portocarrero, getting emotional.
The teens were on board Pino’s 29-foot Robalo, celebrating his daughter’s birthday at Billy’s Point Sandbar. Following the celebration, Pino struck a channel marker near Boca Chita Key.
Fernandez’s friends testified that the crash came without warning.
“Can you describe how that boat ride felt?” said Gomez.
“It felt like nothing out of the ordinary,” said Portocarrero.
“Tell us about the speed of the boat,” said Gomez.
“I don’t remember feeling it going any faster than our past trips,” said Reed.
Following Fernandez’s friends, Cecilia Pino, the defendant’s wife, took the stand for the second time.
“And I remember asking again, ‘Who is missing? Who is missing?’ And that’s when they told me that Lucy was missing,” said Cecilia as she got emotional.
She recalled the chaos in the aftermath of the crash.
“The girls swam to the boat…and I was just trying to find Lucy,” said Cecilia.
“Did you love Lucy?” asked a defense attorney.
“Yes,” said Cecilia.
She told jurors she instructed the group of girls to jump into the water before the water capsized.
Later on Tuesday, two good Samaritans testified in court about bringing Fernandez from the crash site to the dock and how Pino reacted in the aftermath.
One of them, Angel Rodriguez, told jurors that Pino was not impaired.
“When I was cleaning, I got close to him,” said Angel.
“Did you notice an odor of alcoholic beverage coming from this person?” asked a defense attorney.
“No, I didn’t. No,” said Angel.
The second good Samaritan, Hamlet Rodriguez, said he arrived in his own boat after Pino’s vessel capsized and noticed Pino taking action to save Fernandez’s life.
“When he went under the boat, he came out. He brought someone, and I jumped into the ocean right away, trying to help him. As soon as I approached him, he passed me the person. I have no idea who I was saving,” said Hamlet.
Defense attorneys also called on navigational expert Paul Alber to expand on the circumstances surrounding the crash, one day after he testified for the prosecution and presented a reenactment video.
The defense argues the crash occurred at 6:38 p.m., but the reenactment took place at 9 a.m., which affected what was visible.
Alber had recreated what he believes happened leading up to the crash near Boca Chita Key that killed Fernandez.
Prosecutors argue the defendant had a clear view of the channel marker before the crash, but his defense team argued that high tide played a role in what they called a tragic accident.
GPS data shows that about nine seconds before the impact, Pino hit a speed of 47 miles an hour on his vessel and hit the marker on the left side of the channel.
In court on Monday, an attorney for Pino asked Alber about the high tide.
“That marker to the operator’s view is going to look lower when it’s high tide?” asked a defense lawyer.
“A little bit, yes,” said Alber.
“On Sept. 4, 2022, at 6:37 p.m., it was high tide, wasn’t it?” asked the defense lawyer.
“It was close to high tide, I believe, yes,” said Alber.
“The entire event, until we were here in this courtroom today, you assumed that the accident happened at low tide?” said the defense attorney.
“I didn’t make any assumptions because I didn’t consider that the minor difference in a foot or two of water level to play a factor in the collision,” said Alber.
In court on Tuesday, the defense continues to ask Alber about his recreation of the crash.
“So, on the day of the recreation, the high tide didn’t get quite as high as it did on the day of the [crash], correct?” said a defense attorney.
“Yes … 14 inches instead of 18 inches,” said Alber.
Before the defense began presenting its slate of witnesses, Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez denied Pino’s motion for judgment of acquittal.
The court will resume on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
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