Judge to decide if trial for man accused in deadly 2022 boat crash will be moved out of Miami-Dade

Just days before the trial for a man accused in a deadly boat crash is set to begin, a judge is expected to decide whether or not to move it out of Miami-Dade County due to extensive media attention.

Attorneys for real estate broker George Pino are arguing that he won't get a fair trial in South Florida and want to moved to Palm Beach County or Orlando in Central Florida.

His attorneys are also arguing that Pino's charges of manslaughter and vessel homicide should be thrown out.

Pino is accused of recklessly driving a boat Biscayne Bay in September 2022 that killed his daughter's friend, then 17-year-old Lucy Fernandez and leaving Katy Puig, now 21, with a lifetime of physical disabilities.

Pino's attorneys are asking the judge to keep out certain statements he made like saying he had two beers, or that a wake of another boat caused him to crash.

They also want to shield the jury from hearing a witness say that Pino's eyes were bloodshot when he was rescued from the water, or that police found 61 empty or partially-empty booze containers.

His attorneys are also seeking to have the trial moved out of Miami-Dade County.

"It's been unfair and false, and it's that falsehood that's enflames the passions of the citizes of Dade County, which is why that I think it needs to be addressed now. That's why we're doing it now, judge," his attorney said in court.

George Pino's trial is expected to begin on June 1 with jury selection.