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.
‘Rust’ prop master Sarah Zachry called to testify
“Rust” prop master Sarah Zachry has been called to testify.
She said she quit the film industry following the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins.
On “Rust,” Ms Zachry said she controlled any item held by the actors, from hand sanitiser to firearms.
Images from the ‘Rust’ trial
ICYMI: Bodycam footage reveals Rust armourer’s reaction after Alec Baldwin shooting: ‘I just f***** up my entire career’
Body camera footage obtained from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office showed Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armourer on the set of Rust, lamenting her career in the hours after director of photography Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on set.
Sante Fe County Sheriff’s Detective Alexandria Hancock was shown escorting Ms Gutierrez-Reed to the bathroom on the day of the shooting. On their walk to the bathroom Ms Gutierrez-Reed told her, “Welcome to the worst day of my life.”
She later expressed shock that actor and producer Baldwin was the one who was holding the gun.
“I can’t believe Alec Baldwin was holding the gun, that’s so f*****,” she says.
READ MORE:
Armourer in ‘Rust’ trial laments end of career during Halyna Hutchins shooting trial
‘I just want to get the f*** out of here and never show my face in this industry again,’ Ms Gutierrez-Reed said
WATCH: Alec Baldwin's Involuntary Manslaughter Trial Set For July
Trial recap: Gutierrez-Reed says she’s ‘not sure’ how a live round got into one of her ammo boxes
The court saw video footage taken from Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s discussions with investigators.
She said that on the day of the shooting, she picked up a box of dummy ammunition and shook them to hear the “jingle.”
Dummy rounds are often hollow with a ball bearing inside to indicate they are not live rounds. The prosecution argued that Gutierrez-Reed would not have been able to ascertain that every round in the box was a dummy round.
Gutierrez-Reed later said she loaded every round into the revolver Alec Baldwin would ultimately use to shoot Halyna Hutchins. When investigators asked how that could be since a live round wound up in the car, Gutierrez-Reed said she did not know.
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
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
Trial recap: Courtroom chaos has plagued the trial
The court called for its afternoon break just after the stenographer’s machine broke, requiring engineers to be brought in before the trial can continue.
The trial thus far has had a number of strange hiccups that have affected the proceeding. On the first day, one of the jurors was involved in a car accident on the way to court, which forced the trial to delay opening statements for a few hours. Video and image components of the trial have frequently faltered and required technicians to fix, and at one point Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s cell phone number was leaked.
People watching livestreams of the trial via CourtTV copied down her number and some began to send her harassing text messages, which may have contributed to the trial ending several hours early on one of the hearing days.
Trial recap: Guttierez-Reed struggles to maintain composure while viewing autopsy photos
Hannah Guttierez-Reed has maintained a generally stoic expression for the majority of the trial, but she appeared close to breaking on Tuesday when she was shown autopsy photos of Halyna Hutchins.
The photos were shown during the testimony of University of New Mexico Chief Medical Investigator Dr Heather Jarrell.
Dr Jarrell said that the photos showed Ms Hutchins before her wounds had been cleaned, as is typical practice for medical examiners.
Ms Guttierez-Reed was visibly disturbed by the images, and her eyes frequently darted away from the screen.
EXPLAINER — Alec Baldwin: What is involuntary manslaughter and the expected sentence?
Alec Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the on-set death of Halyna Hutchins, the Santa Fe District Attorney has said.
What is involuntary manslaughter?
The Santa Fe DA said that Mr Baldwin and Ms Gutierrez-Reed would be “charged in the alternative” with two counts of manslaughter.
This means that a “jury would decide not simply if they were guilty, but under which definition of involuntary manslaughter they were guilty,” the DA said in a statement.
READ MORE:
Alec Baldwin: What is involuntary manslaughter and the expected sentence?
‘Jury would decide not simply if they were guilty, but under which definition of involuntary manslaughter they were guilty’