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.
Images from inside courtroom
Court shown video taken after shooting
After the lunch break prosecutors again attempted to show a video taken after the fatal shooting.
The video shows Sante Fe Officer Nicholas LaFleur driving up to the church on the Rust set after the shooting took place.
Officer LaFleur told the court that he had grabbed a trauma kit and medical supplies from his truck after arriving on the scene where he requested an “airflight” for the two victims.
The playing of the video has been hit by a string of technical difficulties with prosecutors forced to swap computers to try and get it to play in the courtroom.
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
Officer continues to testify about shooting
Sante Fe Officer Nicholas LaFleur said he spoke to the dispatcher to give them an update on the conditions of the two victims who had been shot on the set.
He can be heard on the video, which cannot be seen outside of the courtroom, describing the victims and saying that a woman has been shot.
The officer then described putting a breathing mask over Halyna Hutchins’s face, while a woman can be heard saying “Deep breaths Halyna, good girl, deep breaths.”
He could be heard saying that she had been hit by a “through and through.”
“She had been shot and it had gone through her and the male that was there had been hit in the arm and shoulder area,” he told the jury.
Alec Baldwin tells officer he was ‘the one with the gun’ after shooting
The movie crew can be heard on video describing the “props guy” as having “green and purple hair.”
The crew then described that Alec Baldwin was on the set and the officer could be heard talking to the actor, telling him he “knew” who he was.
“I was the one with the gun. What do you need?” Baldwin told him.
The officer said that there were three officers at the scene and a “couple of hundred” people were on the set. He said that he “corralled” around 10 people who had been in the area of the shooting.
Prosecution calls a second witness: former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy
The prosecution has called its second witness, former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy Tim Benavidez.
Mr Benavidez was the office’s shift commander on the day cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the set of the movie “Rust.”
He told the court that only three deputies were on the scene on the day of the shooting, which made gathering witness testimony difficult. The former deputy said the scene was “chaotic” when he arrived.
Footage from his bodycam was then shown to the court.
‘Oh my God...are they ok?’: Hannah Guttierez-Reed on deputy body cam footage
Bodycam footage from the prosecution’s second witness, former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy Tim Benavidez, showed the moment he took the 45 Colt replica that fired the shot that killed Halyna Hutchins from Hannah Guttierez-Reed.
At one point in the footage Guttierez-Reed can be seen looking worried while she speaks with the deputy. She can be heard asking about the condition of the wounded.
“Oh my God, f***... are they ok?” she asks.
After that, Mr Benavidez questions her about the ammunition, and she begins to cry. He trys to reassure her as she attempts to answer his questions through tears.
At the time Guttierez-Reed had not been in the church where the shooting occurred and did not know the condition of Ms Hutchins and director Joel Souza, who had been shot in the stomach.
Former deputy says Hannah Guttierez-Reed was ‘hyperventilating’ and ‘having a panic attack’ after the shooting
Former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy Tim Benavidez, who was acting as the site commander on the day Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the set of the film “Rust,” was shown on bodycamera footage calling for medics to assist Hannah Guttierez-Reed.
He can be seen on the bodycam footage calling for medics to check on Guttierez-Reed, who he’d placed in his patrol vehicle because she was crying and appeared in distress.
He told the medic that she was “hyperventilating” and needed someone to assist her because he believed she was “having a panic attack.”
Judge calls recess for afternoon break
The judge in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Hannah Guttierez-Reed has called a recess to take an afternoon break.
Just before the break, former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy Tim Benavidez, the prosecution’s second witness, was talking the court through the events captured by his bodycam footage on the day Halyna Hutchins was shot on the set of “Rust.”
Mr Benavidez was the shift commander for the sheriff’s office on the day the fatal shooting occurred.
He will continue his testimony and likely sit for cross-examination when the court reconvenes at approximately 2:50 local time, 4:50 EST.
Court readjourns
Court is back in session after a brief break.
The prosecution is continuing to question former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy Tim Benavidez, who acted as the site commander on the day Halyna Hutchins suffered a fatal gunshot wound on the set of the film “Rust.”