George Pino Breaks Down So Hard at His Own Trial That the Judge Has to Halt the Proceedings

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, let me just remind you that the state has the burden of putting each and every element of the crimes of charge. The defense has no burden whatsoever to prove or disprove anything or to present any evidence whatsoever. Can I? [00:00:23] Speaker 2: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Can everybody hear me okay? Is the microphone working, Your Honor? [00:00:31] Speaker 1: I think it is. [00:00:34] Speaker 2: I think we all agree that we're here today because there was a tragedy. Lucy died. And it's painful. It's painful for everybody to think about it, hear about it, talk about it. And over the course of the trial, we'll have to relive those moments, and George Pino is going to have to relive those moments. He loved Lucy. He'd known Lucy since she was a little girl. He loved Lucy like a daughter, like his own daughter. The state admits this was not George's intention for this to happen. He did not intend to crash into a marker. He did not intend for anybody to be hurt. His own daughter, his own wife, his own body was on that boat. He had traveled on that boat safely through that channel many, many times. Many times. And he was celebrating his daughter's 18th birthday with some of the best friends his daughter had since childhood. George's parents' generation, George's generation and then the next generation. George would never think to put any of these girls' lives in jeopardy. And when he was traveling at 47 miles per hour with everybody seated on that boat, with George at the helm, a perfectly clear day. The seas were calm. A boat like that could have been powered not with just 600 horsepower engines, but 700 horsepower engines, although George didn't put the maximum horsepower engines on that boat. That boat can travel in upwards of 50 plus miles an hour, fully loaded. There was no weight restriction or personal restriction that George was violating when he had all of his passengers on the boat. There was a life preserver for each and every one of them on board, although the law doesn't require that passengers on a boat wear the life preserver. There was no speed limit in the channel. And there are channels with speed limits. When you come back to port, you might see a sign that says, "No wake." W-A-K-E. Boats have to travel slowly when coming back into port sometimes. There might be a marker that says, "Minimum wake." And there are markers that have speed limits throughout the Intracoastal Waterway. But Cutter Bank Channel in 2022 had no posted speed limits. We are now in 2026. There are still no posted speed limits at Cutter Bank Channel. Even after this tragedy happened. Our legislature has not imposed an argument, there is no, there was none then. There is none now. Because under ordinary circumstances, traveling at 47 miles per hour, which George Pino had done many times, is not a violation of the law. It is not unsafe seamanship. The state's theory, as you've heard it today, is a bit of a mish-mash. On the one hand, they say to you, "Two beers," trying to suggest to you this is about alcohol impairment. The government, the government, the government, the government, the government, the government, the government, the state knows better than that. The evidence will show. I apologize. Multiple eyewitnesses. At least eight, I expect, will testify at this trial. Eight. Who observed George Pino at the sandbar just after the elision, the crash, and law enforcement officers themselves, who observed George Pino, eye to eye, examining him purposely to determine, was George Pino impaired? Each of those witnesses, who examined and observed George Pino, were satisfied that George Pino was not impaired. That included the adults that were at the sandbar. It included Lucy's dad. Who was at the sandbar, himself, enjoying the festivities with his daughter, with the Pino's, and with the other families that were there. And the adults that were at the sandbar, were also consuming some alcohol. They too, operated their motor vessels after consuming some alcohol, including Lucy's dad. Lucy's dad would never have would never have allowed his daughter to ride back with George Pino if Lucy's dad thought that George Pino was impaired. And Lucy's dad saw that George Pino had had a beer, and was satisfied that George Pino was not impaired. This was not the first time George Pino had had a beer in his life. So you'll hear a testimony from the adults at the sandbar, including George Pino. George Pino's wife. George Pino's wife was on that boat. She would not have allowed her husband to operate a boat with her own life, her daughter's life, and the lives of the girls that Mrs. Pino had helped raise. Some of these girls grew up in the Pino home all the time, spending time together. Mrs. Pino will testify. George, her husband, was not a woman. George Pino's wife was not impaired. She wouldn't have risked her own life. George Pino's wife was on that boat. She would not have allowed her husband to operate a boat with her own life, her daughter's life, and the lives of the girls that Mrs. Pino had helped raise. Some of these girls grew up in the Pino home all the time, spending time together. Mrs. Pino will testify. George, her husband, was not impaired. She wouldn't have risked her own life. Mrs. Pino's wife, she wouldn't have risked her own life. [00:07:41] Speaker 3: Thank you. And only a problem for a jury to be open. Okay, I know it's not counsel's fault. [00:08:23] Speaker 1: We're going to take a few minutes break. Mr. Pino, you need to be get a hold of yourself and be able to manage your emotions during these proceedings. [00:08:45] Speaker ?: So what we need to do to do that is going to be necessary. Take a few minutes now. We'll take 10 minutes to discuss how that can be accomplished [00:09:02] Speaker 1: because we are going to proceed and Mr. Pino's going to need to be able to control this. 10 minutes. Thank you. Thank you. [00:09:44] Speaker ?: Thank you.