SANTA FE, N.M. — Attorneys prepared to make opening statements Thursday at the first trial involving the fatal shooting of a cameraman by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal for the Western film “Rust.”
Before Baldwin’s case progresses, the film’s weapons supervisor will be tried on charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in the Oct. 21, 2021, death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at a film ranch outside Santa Fe.
Arms Officer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the charges and says she is not directly responsible for Hutchins’ death. In court filings, lead attorney Jason Bowles has pointed to findings by workplace safety regulators about broad problems beyond the gunmaker’s control.
Prosecutors plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed unknowingly brought live ammunition onto a film set where it was expressly prohibited. They say the gunmaker missed several opportunities to ensure safety, ultimately loading a bullet into the gun that killed Hutchins.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in a separate case.
Prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis initially dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were told the gun may have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. A more recent analysis of the weapon concluded that the “trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”
During Gutierrez-Reed’s trial, jurors from the Santa Fe area were sworn in Wednesday at the end of a daylong selection process that included questions about exposure to media coverage and social media talk about the case. Four jurors will initially serve as alternates to a panel of twelve.
Gutierrez-Reed, the stepdaughter of famed marksman and weapons consultant Thell Reed, was 24 when Hutchins died.
She faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The evidence tampering charge stems from allegations that she handed a baggie of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection by police.
Her lawyers say the indictment is an attempt by prosecutors to smear Gutierrez-Reed’s character. The bag was thrown away without testing the contents, lawyers said.
The trial runs through March 6, with more than 40 potential witnesses.
Baldwin, the star and co-producer of “Rust,” will not appear on the pretrial witness list and could invoke protection against self-incrimination if prompted. His test date has not been set.
Baldwin has said he pulled back the gun’s hammer — not the trigger — and the gun fired. He was indicted by a grand jury in January.
Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers say she has been unfairly made a scapegoat. They claim that live rounds arrived on set from an Albuquerque-based dummy round supplier.
Additionally, in another case, Gutierrez-Reed is accused of carrying a gun to a bar in downtown Santa Fe, violating state law. Her lawyers say the indictment was used to pressure Gutierrez-Reed into making a false confession about the handling of live ammunition on the “Rust” set.
Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for the storage, maintenance and handling of firearms and ammunition on set and for training cast members who would handle firearms, according to state workplace safety regulators.
Live rounds are generally distinguished from dummy rounds by a small hole in the brass cartridge of the dummy, indicating that there is no explosive inside, or by shaking the round to hear the clang of a BB placed inside. A missing or dented primer on the bottom of the cartridge is another characteristic of dummy rounds.
The company Rust Movie Productions paid a $100,000 fine to the state after a damning story about safety failures that violated standard industry protocols.