A jury today acquitted a Florida real estate developer of felony homicide and manslaughter charges for a boat crash that killed a 17-year-old girl attending his daughters birthday party. George Pino, 54, wept after the clerk read the second “not guilty” verdict for felony vessel homicide. He first was acquitted of manslaughter. Pino was operating his boat in Biscayne Bay on Sept. 4, 2022, with his daughter and her friends on board when he crashed into a channel marker. Luciana “Lucy” Fernandez, 17, was killed, and another passenger, Katerina “Katy” Puig, now 21, was injured and permanently disabled physically and neurologically. Prosecutors argued Pino operated the boat recklessly by traveling 47 mph on the wrong side of the channel. Jurors nine days of testimony before attorneys gave closing arguments this morning. They deliberated about two hours before acquitting Pino. One juror appeared to hesitate when asked in polling if the verdict was his, but he answered "yes” as the camera focused on Fernandez’s father. Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez in Miami-Dade Circuit Court presided. Pino’s lawyer Howard Srebnick said they are “are grateful to the jurors for their careful consideration of the evidence and for reaching a just verdict.” “From the beginning, we have maintained that the events of September 4, 2022, were a tragic accident, not a crime. The testimony presented at trial, including unrebutted accounts from eyewitnesses who saw no signs of impairment, confirmed that Mr. Pino was not under the influence, was not operating the vessel recklessly and that he did everything he could to protect his passengers after the accident," according to the statement. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said she knows the verdict "brings no comfort to the Fernandez and Puig families who forever must live with the tragedy of what happened." "In a case like this, there are no winners or losers. Mr. Pino must live with what he did, while the Fernandez and Puig families will grapple with the consequences of his actions," Fernandez Rundle said in a statement published by the Miami Herald. #law #court #legal - @meghannmcuniff