Citing media coverage, Pino wants boat-crash trial held outside of Miami-Dade
Less than two weeks before Doral real estate broker George Pino is set to stand trial in a Miami-Dade courthouse over his role in a boat crash that killed one teen and maimed another, he and his legal team are asking a judge to move the proceeding to Palm Beach County or Orlando.
In a motion filed this month, Pino’s legal team argues an “impartial jury” of Pino’s peers does not exist in Miami-Dade County because the case has been “well-publicized.” His lawyers cited the Miami Herald’s investigative coverage of the fatal crash, along with widespread television coverage. His trial is set to begin on June 1.
In September 2022, Pino crashed his boat with 13 passengers aboard into a Biscayne Bay channel marker. Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez, 17, was killed and Katerina “Katy” Puig, now 21, suffered brain injuries and lifelong disabilities.
READ MORE: New witness leads to felony homicide charge 2 years after boat crash killed Lourdes girl
In their plea to Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez, Pino’s lawyers alleged the Herald “published multiple articles perpetuating an entirely false narrative of what took place on Sept. 4, 2022.”
The Herald’s “Wrecked Justice” series raised questions about authorities’ handling of the crash investigation.
Prosecutors, who initially charged Pino with three careless-boating misdemeanors, later upped those charges to felony vessel homicide and manslaughter, though Pino can only be convicted on one or the other of those charges.
“Not only has the coverage been one-sided, but it has also been pervasive: there have been hundreds of other articles by various news media, including the Herald, about the accident.”
His legal team said it believes a trial in Palm Beach County or Orlando is necessary because media coverage has been “significantly lower” there. A public-relations expert, hired and cited by Pino’s lawyers in the motion, released findings that less than two dozen articles about the crash were published in those areas since the crash occurred and May 5, 2026.
Judge Tinkler Mendez has yet to rule on the motion.
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