Rust production wanted to fire ‘difficult to work with’ armourer before Alec Baldwin shooting
“Rust” first assistant director David Halls testified during the trial, and choked up when he recalled the shooting of Halyna Hutchins
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“Rust” prop master Sarah Zachry testified during the trial and admitted to a defence attorney that she had previously voiced a desire to both fire Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and — after the shooting of Halyna Hutchins — see her sent to prison.
After the cross-exam, Ms Zachry told the prosection that the armourer was not easy to work with and confirmed that Gutierrez-Reed had called her a “c***,” which the prosecution argued is likely why Ms Zachry wanted to fire her.
Gutierrez-Reed is facing involuntary manslaughter charges in the fatal shooting of Ms Hutchins. Actor and producer Alec Baldwin is also facing involuntary manslaughter charges related to the shooting. His trial will begin on 9 July.
The prosecution seeks to prove that Gutierrez-Reed was negligent in her duties on set and that proper protocol was in place during the investigation of the shooting. The state claims the armourer was “sloppy” and had left guns unattended on the set.
Gutierrez-Reed is also facing an evidence tampering charge for allegedly asking a friend to hide cocaine for her while police were investigating the shooting.
Gutierrez-Reed faces up to three years in prison if she is convicted.
Gutierrez-Reed typically advised actors to take part in safety checks
In footage of a police interview, Ms Gutierrez-Reed spoke to investigators about how she conducted on set safety checks.
Actors would often skip checking their own weapons, saying they trust she’s done it well, but Ms Gutierrez-Reed said she’d advise them to take part.
“Don’t trust me, go ahead and check for yourself,” she recalled telling actors.
Alec Baldwin “was on his phone” during safety training
In an interview with police, Ms Gutierrez-Reed spoke about how she went about training actors in using guns safely.
“A lot of the times, they might not even listen to me,” she said.
During a training meeting, Alec Baldwin was “distracted” and “was on his phone” for much of the time, she said.
Court adjourned till tomorrow
Court has adjourned for the evening.
The trial will resume at 8:30 am tomorrow morning.
Alec Baldwin, an armourer and an assistant director: Who was charged in Rust shooting death of Halyna Hutchins?
Alec Baldwin and two crew members were charged over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust in January, after an exhaustive 15 month investigation.
Then on Thursday 20 April, weeks before the trial was due to begin, Baldwin’s attorneys announced a charge of involuntary manslaughter had been dismissed.
Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was also facing a charge of involuntary manslaughter, while first assistant director David Halls has agreed to plead guilty to the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
READ MORE:
Who was charged in Rust shooting death of Halyna Hutchins?
A grand jury indcited Baldwin on involuntary manslaughter charges in January, months after previous charges were dropped, writes Bevan Hurley
ICYMI: Prosecutor says ‘incomprehensible’ that live ammunition ended up on ‘Rust’ set, calls Gutierrez-Reed ‘unprofessional’ and ‘sloppy’
During opening arguments, prosecutor Jason Lewis said live ammunition never should have been on the set of “Rust,” and that answering the question as to how the ammo ended up there would be a key element of their case against armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
Gutierrez-Reed has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and a count of evidence tampering.
“The prospect of live ammunition ending up on a film set is incomprehensible,” he said. He further claimed that the state’s witnesses would attest to Gutierrez-Reed being “unprofessional and sloppy” on set, and that she “routinely left guns and ammunition around the set unattended.”
ICYMI: ‘Rust’ dolly grip gives emotional recollection of on-set shooting
During his testimony on Monday, ‘Rust’ dolly grip Ross Addiego, became emotional as he recalled the moments after the shooting on the film’s set.
His voice faltering slightly, he told the court: “She was quite clearly injured... [she was] starting to go flush and holding her right side.”
“Joel [Souza] let out some scream to indicate that he was also injured,” he said.
Mr Addiego said that he had attended to Mr Souza, the director of the film, before he and other crew members had moved a church pew so that they could lay Hutchins on the floor. He recalled telling the director to “get the f*** out of here,” and someone else had called 911.
He added that he had not heard “anything verbal” from Hutchins, just groans of pain.
“They were trying to stbilise her to get her in a helicopter to get her to whatever ER they thought was appropriate,” he said, again with a trembling voice.
At one point Mr Addiego took off his glasses to wipe his eyes.
Alec Baldwin to stand trial this summer on a charge stemming from deadly ‘Rust’ movie set shooting
A New Mexico judge has set a trial date for Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge stemming from a deadly shooting on the set of the movie “Rust.”
Read the full story here:
Alec Baldwin to stand trial this summer on a charge stemming from deadly 'Rust' movie set shooting
A New Mexico judge has set a trial date for Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge stemming from a deadly shooting on the set of the movie “Rust.”
FBI firearms expert says Rust revolver ‘would not fire’ unless someone pulled the trigger
Earlier in the trial, an FBI firearms expert who studied and tested the revolver used in the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” testified that, after analysis, he determined the gun could not fire unless someone pulled the trigger.
“It would not fire without pulling the trigger in the full cock position,” FBI forensic examiner Bryce Ziegler said.
His statement contradicts the claims made by actor and producer Alec Baldwin, who had drawn the gun in the moments before the shot that killed Ms Hutchins was fired. Baldwin has insisted that he did not pull the trigger.
Mr Ziegler said he had to break the revolver using a mallet in order to force it to fire without a trigger pull.
ICYMI: Alec Baldwin formally charged with involuntary manslaughter over Rust shooting
Alec Baldwin has been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the New Mexico film set in 2021.
Prosecutors filed the felony charges against the actor, who allegedly pointed a gun at Hutchins that went off and fatally shot her, on Tuesday (31 January), according to Albuquerque TV station KOAT.
Hutchins died after being struck by a live bullet at Bonanza Creek Ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on 21 October 2021. Joel Souza, the director of the film Rust, was also shot and injured but survived the incident.
READ MORE:
Alec Baldwin formally charged with involuntary manslaughter over Rust shooting
Actor has denied that he pulled trigger of weapon during rehearsal on New Mexico set in 2021