Negligence or scapegoating? Trial of ‘Rust’ armorer begins in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, middle, sits together with her legal professional Jason Bowles, left, through the first day of testimony in the trial towards her in First District Court, in Santa Fe, N.M., Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Gutierrez-Reed, who was working because the armorer on the film “Rust,” when a revolver actor Alec Baldwin was holding fired and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded the film’s director, Joel Souza, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and tampering with proof.
| Photo Credit: Eddie Moore

Prosecutors sought to pin the blame on a film weapons supervisor for bringing dwell ammunition on set and “unprofessional and sloppy” work that contributed to the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin during the production of the film Rust, as the primary trial in the dying started Thursday.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was the armorer for the Western film, has pleaded not responsible to costs of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with proof in the dying of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021, throughout rehearsal on a film ranch exterior Santa Fe.

Baldwin, who was pointing the gun at Hutchins when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza, is separately fighting a charge of involuntary manslaughter. No trial date has been set.

Defense attorneys say Gutierrez-Reed is to not blame and is being smeared and unfairly scapegoated. Jason Bowles advised jurors that his shopper needed to carry out two jobs on Rust whereas being rushed — and that her requests for extra sources went unanswered by her supervisor.

Jurors watched police physique digicam movies of the harrowing, chaotic scene after the shooting, with medical personnel treating a wounded and semiconscious Hutchins and loading her into an ambulance as a helicopter arrived. A sheriff’s deputy and lieutenant narrated their efforts to corral witnesses, safe ammunition and cordon off the scene on the sprawling film ranch.

Prosecutors mentioned they plan to current proof that Gutierrez-Reed unwittingly introduced dwell ammunition onto the set, the place it was expressly prohibited, and to indicate “how these dwell rounds slowly unfold their approach all through the set, finally touchdown in a number of of the actors’ costumes.”

They say the armorer missed a number of alternatives to make sure security, finally loading a dwell spherical into the gun that killed Hutchins and failing twice to correctly verify whether or not bullets in the gun had been dwell or dummies.

The revolver that actor Alec Baldwin was holding and fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding the film’s director, Joel Souza, is displayed through the trial towards Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, in Santa Fe, N.M., Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Eddie Moore

“We will present you, girls and gents, that by failing to make these very important security checks, the defendant acted negligently and with out due warning,” prosecutor Jason Lewis advised jurors. “And the selections that she made that day in the end contributed to Ms. Hutchins’ dying.”

Lead protection counsel Jason Bowles countered by pointing to findings by office security regulators of broad issues that prolonged past the armorer’s management. He contended that dwell rounds arrived on set from an Albuquerque-based provider of dummy rounds, and that the provider was by no means really investigated.

Gutierrez-Reed, the stepdaughter of famend sharpshooter and weapons advisor Thell Reed, was 24 when the shooting occurred.

“What they’ve tried to do, and what you’re seeing in this courtroom at present, is attempting guilty all of it on Hannah, a 24-year-old. Why? Because she’s a straightforward goal, she’s the least highly effective individual on that set,” Bowles mentioned.

A photograph of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is displayed through the trial towards Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, in First District Court, in Santa Fe, N.M., Thursday, February 22, 2024. Gutierrez-Reed, who was working because the armorer on the film “Rust” when a revolver that actor Alec Baldwin was holding fired killing Hutchins and wounded the film’s director Joel Souza, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and tampering with proof.
| Photo Credit:
Eddie Moore

Bowles sought to shift blame for security failures away from Gutierrez-Reed, and towards Baldwin and his dealing with of the gun throughout rehearsal.

“He both had his finger on the set off and the hammer cocked, or he pulled the set off, as he was pointing that at Ms. Hutchins and Mr. Souza,” Bowles mentioned. “You’re not going to listen to something about her being in that church or firing that weapon. That was Alec Baldwin.”

Baldwin has mentioned he pulled again the gun’s hammer — not the set off — and the weapon fired.

Prosecutors initially dismissed an involuntary manslaughter cost towards him in April, saying they had been knowledgeable the gun may need been modified earlier than the shooting and malfunctioned. But a newer evaluation concluded the “set off needed to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to launch the totally cocked or retracted hammer of the proof revolver,” and he was re-indicted in January by a grand jury.

Bowles additionally mentioned the trial will present that Baldwin didn’t observe a security suggestion from Gutierrez-Reed and flouted primary ideas of gun security by pulling out the revolver in a “cross-draw” movement with out particular coaching.

“You’re going to listen to that Ms. Gutierrez-Reed particularly requested to coach Mr. Baldwin in a cross-draw,” Bowles advised jurors. “You’re additionally going to listen to that he didn’t do this coaching.”

Prosecutors questioned the sheriff’s deputy and lieutenant about their efforts to safe the scene and protect proof, and famous the second when Gutierrez-Reed handed over the revolver, now emptied of cartridges.

In cross-examinations, protection counsel requested whether or not officers misplaced sight of a storage cart for ammunition and weapons amid the turmoil and highlighted that witnesses had been saved collectively in a approach that conversations may erode dependable testimony.

The trial is scheduled to run by means of March 6, with greater than 40 potential witnesses.

Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on Rust, doesn’t seem on pretrial witness lists and will invoke protections towards self-incrimination if pressed.

Gutierrez-Reed faces as much as 18 months and a $5,000 advantageous if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The proof tampering cost stems from accusations that she handed a small bag of potential narcotics to a different crew member after the shooting to keep away from detection.

Her attorneys say that cost is an try and smear her character. The bag was thrown away with out testing the contents, protection attorneys mentioned.

In a separate case, Gutierrez-Reed is accused of carrying a gun right into a bar in downtown Santa Fe. Her attorneys say that cost was used to attempt to strain her right into a false confession in the Rust case.

Gutierrez-Reed was chargeable for storage, upkeep and dealing with of firearms and ammunition, and for coaching solid members who can be dealing with firearms, in line with state office security regulators.

Dummy rounds are sometimes distinguished from dwell bullets by a small gap in their brass cartridge, which signifies there isn’t any explosive materials inside, or by shaking the spherical to listen to the clatter of a BB that’s inserted inside.

Rust Movie Productions paid a $100,000 advantageous to the state following a scathing report of security failures in violation of commonplace business protocols.