SANTA FE, N.M. — Testimony at Monday’s trial turned emotional and argumentative as an eyewitness recounted the 2021 fatal shooting of a cameraman by actor Alec Baldwin during a film rehearsal and described there being misfires involving firearms, crew members running away and a ” ridiculous’ work pace.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was the gunsmith for the upcoming Western film “Rust,” is fighting charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence during a trial that entered its third day of testimony Monday. In July, a trial date was set for Baldwin on a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cameraman Halyna Hutchins. He has pleaded not guilty.
Defense attorneys emphasized Gutierrez-Reed’s unusual disadvantage and vulnerability at the time as a part-time, 24-year-old gunsmith with no union membership on a set where few dared directly confront Baldwin about safety concerns and related budgeting.
Monday’s testimony focused on the actor’s handling of the revolver that killed Hutchins — including a video of Baldwin practicing a cross-pull maneuver twice in front of a camera on Oct. 21, 2021, shortly before the fatal shooting that day. Investigators have found no video footage of the shooting.
Baldwin’s video was accompanied by searing testimony from Ross Addiego, a member of the frontline “Rust” crew who helped guide the film’s camera. Addiego said that in the moments after a shot rang out on set, he made eye contact with a wounded Hutchins and tried to calm wounded director Joel Souza.
“The first person I made eye contact with was Halyna, who was clearly injured. In fact, she started turning red and I think she was holding her right side,” Addiego said, breaking down in tears. “I think I shouted, ‘If you can’t help, then… get away and call 911.’”
Prosecutors guided Addiego through testimony in which he described his anger and frustration with safety procedures on set, including the sight of a gun and ammunition storage cart that often appeared to be unattended and Gutierrez-Reed’s work as a gunsmith responsible for loading of weapons with blank and dummy rounds. Investigators found six live rounds on the set of “Rust,” including the one that killed Hutchins.
Addiego noted two misfires on set — confirmed as blank rounds without projectiles by workplace safety supervisors — and only one safety meeting during about two workweeks, when daily meetings are the norm.
He said he had filed safety complaints before the fatal shooting with union representatives and the film’s top safety official, assistant director David Halls, who pleaded no contest last year to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and may be called to to testify.
“At times we seemed to be working at ridiculous speeds,” said Addiego, who also testified before the grand jury that indicted Baldwin in January. “We always seemed to be in a hurry and under the gun.”
In tense cross-examination, defense attorney Jason Bowles asked Addiego if he was aware that Gutierrez-Reed had unsuccessfully asked for more time to focus on her responsibilities as a gunsmith instead of other support duties, such as rolling cowboy cigarettes.
“Did you ever protest to Mr. Baldwin and say, ‘No, we’re not going to move that fast?'” Bowles asked.
“That’s not my job,” Addiego said.
Bowles continued, “If everyone else, grown men, doesn’t stand up to Mr. Baldwin, wouldn’t you find it hard for her too?”
He noted that Addiego sued Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions and questioned his motives in testifying.
“Are you hoping that you can come here and testify today and that something will happen to Ms. Gutierrez-Reed and that this will help your case?” Bowles asked.
“I hope for justice, sir,” Addiego replied. ‘Two people were injured on a film set. That not only affected me, it also affected the film industry.”
Also on Monday, prosecutors called a series of FBI forensic experts in firearms, fingerprints, gunpowder and DNA evidence detection to testify about their investigation into a revolver and ammunition seized from the ‘Rust ‘ set and an ammunition supplier for the Albuquerque-based film.
Prosecutors allege Gutierrez-Reed is responsible for bringing live ammunition onto the set. They say six live rounds found on the “Rust” set have identical characteristics – and do not match live rounds seized from the film’s supplier in Albuquerque.
Lawyers for Gutierrez-Reed have pointed to shortcomings in collecting evidence from the set, saying ammunition supplier Seth Kenney was not properly investigated and never submitted fingerprints.
FBI firearms expert Bryce Ziegler testified about his analysis of a gun Baldwin held during the shooting. He said the revolver and its safety features were fully functional when it arrived at an FBI laboratory for testing.
“When I received the firearm and did an initial functional check, it did not appear that any of the safeties were malfunctioning or anything like that,” Ziegler said.
But Ziegler described additional “accidental discharge tests” on the gun in response to Baldwin’s claim that the gun went off when he failed to pull the trigger. Ziegler said the only way he could get the gun to fire without pulling the trigger was to hit the gun with a hammer, knowing it might break as per procedure and get permission to continue.
“The purpose of that test is to see if I can get this firearm to fire without actually pulling the trigger,” Ziegler said.
“Testing in my lab, without pulling the trigger in the fully cocked position, it wouldn’t go off without breaking,” he said.