A Florida man standing trial on manslaughter charges in the death of his daughter’s teenage friend was reamed for displays of affection in the courtroom from those seated in the gallery. 

Fatal Boat Accident

George Pino, 55, is charged with manslaughter and vessel homicide for the 2022 death of 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez, who was slung from a boat in Biscayne Bay, just south of Miami, Florida. 

Prosecutors say that Pino was drinking throughout the day before getting behind the wheel of the boat to drive him and the passengers home. The defendant took his wife and daughter, along with 11 of his daughter’s friends, out for her birthday to a sandbar. Prosecutors also say he was providing the underage girls with alcohol before they began their return to the marina. 

They almost made it, but Pino slammed the vessel into a channel marker, one that he had passed many times before, according to the boat’s GPS data. Prosecutors argue that Lucy Fernandez lost her life due to the negligence of the boat driver, and another friend has suffered from permanent disabilities to her brain. 

Emotional Trial

It is expected for this trial to be emotional on all sides, but there is a time and place for everything, and a courtroom is rarely that place. Families of the girls on the boat have been seated in the courtroom’s gallery alongside Pino’s family. Emotions have been running high, leading to proceedings being adjourned early on Monday. 

When the trial resumed on Tuesday, Pino seemed more composed, but as photo evidence was shown and further testimony was heard, he became visibly moved. People seated in the gallery would approach the defendant to offer him hugs while the judge was busy with the prosecution and defense attorneys’ sidebars. 

Public Displays of Affection

Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez was not tolerating that, and noted people “actually having physical contact and hugging Mr. Pino. It is absolutely unacceptable.” She continued, “This is a court of law. We’re not at a sporting event, not at a social event.”

Prosecutor Laura Adams asked the judge to speak with the defendant individually because this has been a recurring issue, and, time after time, after being told, the public displays of affection continue. 

“Even though he has heard me ask multiple times last week and this week not to engage in public displays of affection, especially when a jury is around, he continues to do it. He allows it to happen,” Adams said. 

“I understand the court admonishing the people that are in the room, but the main person who should be admonished is the man who’s allowing it to happen, which is the defendant.”

Menendez ordered the defendant to avoid physical contact from here on out, including with his attorneys, and to resort to writing notes to them if necessary.

Eyewitness Testimony

Testimony from eyewitnesses has all been similar, describing a peaceful and fun afternoon at the sandbar. One of Pino’s daughters’ friends, who was there, Camilia Alvarez, estimated she had around 10 drinks and acknowledged that all the girls were drinking with the adults, and became intoxicated.

Lucy Fenandez’s father, Andres Fernandez, testified that he saw the group at the sandbar and was not concerned with Pino’s level of intoxication or his ability to safely drive the boat. Pino is estimated to have had about two beers over two hours. 

“The girls were drinking, the boys were drinking, the adults had drinks,” Fernandez testified. “It was a situation where everybody was having drinks.”

Final Moments Recalled

It became overwhelming with emotions in the courtroom when Andres Fernandez began detailing his final moment with his daughter, and the lengths he and his wife went through to find her after the incident.

Lucy had just stopped in at her father’s boat for a rubber band and sunscreen before he left the party. “She gave me a hug, and I remember it clearly because that’s the last time I held her alive,” he recalled.

Fernandez and his wife, Millie, searched through multiple hospitals following the boat crash before finding their daughter. “Our nightmare escalates because we have no idea where Lucy is. We can’t find her. We don’t know where she went,” he said.

At the final hospital, they checked, pulled up a photo of Lucy on his phone, and showed it to the nurse, who confirmed she was likely there. “The receptionist comes back and says, ‘Yes, somebody was brought here, but we cannot ID her from that picture because she’s in bad shape.’ And at that point, Mellie and I knew the inevitable,” he testified.

Lucy Fernandez succumbed to her injuries the next morning. Andres and Millie insisted on being by their daughter’s side when they found her, and they noticed a large piece of fiberglass in her head, which Andres attempted to remove.

He was told, “‘Don’t touch her, it’s evidence.’ And at that point in time, Mellie and I looked at each other, and we’re like, ‘Our daughter’s a piece of evidence.’”

Accident or Negligence?

Pino’s defense attorneys conceded that he had two beers before driving the boat, but that he was in control when it hit the channel marker, causing it to overturn in the water. Howard Srebnick, one of the defense attorneys, said the tragedy was an accident and not the result of recklessness.