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.
ICYMI: Prosecution calls a second witness: former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy
The prosecution 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.”
ICYMI: Defence begins its cross-examination of former Santa Fe deputy
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s defence attorney has begun his cross-exmaination of former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy Tim Benavidez.
The prosecution used its time questioning the deputy to establish a chain of custody for various pieces of physical evidence collected from the crime scene, including the 45 Colt replica that shot the bullet that killed Halyna Hutchins and “dummy” ammo that was meant for use on set.
The defence has asked the deputy both about the importance of maintaining the chain of custody for physical evidence and about the number of deputies who responded to the scene of the shooting.
Mr Benavidez said only three deputies were available to respond to the scene due to the fact that deputies are stationed all across Sante Fe County.
Defence tries to poke holes in the investigation
Defense attorneys representing Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is facing involuntary manslaughter charges in the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer on the film “Rust.”
The defence questioned former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy Tim Benavidez, who was the site commander on the day of the shooting, why he did not begin his crime log earlier. He said it was because he only had three deputies to respond to the scene.
The defence also pointed out that a car contaning physical evidence was beyond the police tape, and the officer admitted that it was possible that someone could have accessed that vehicle and tampered with evidence. He later stated to the prosecution that he did not believe anyone had tampered with evidence and that he could see the car in question while he was on site.
Mr Benavidez was also asked why he did not allow witnesses to return to their cars rather than attempting to keep them corralled in a central location. He told the defence that he did not know where all of the crews’ cars were located and reiterated that he only had three deputies on hand to help contain the witnesses to the shooting.
ICYMI: Defence points clear finger at Alec Baldwin
On the first day of the trial, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s defence attorney Jason Bowles’ portrayed his client as a convenient scapegoat for a film production looking to dodge blowback from the accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
He agreed that a tragedy occurred on set, but said that a tragedy did not necessitate a crime. Mr Bowles further made the argument that if anyone is to blame, it’s actor and producer Alec Baldwin.
“The first event that had to happen is the actor Alec Baldwin pointed a gun on that set and he either had his finger on the trigger and the hammer cocked or he pulled the trigger,” Ms Bowles said.
Mr Baldwin has insisted that the gun used in the shooting malfunctioned and that he did not pull the triggger.
WATCH LIVE: Guttierez-Reed back in the courtroom as day two of the trial begins
Hannah Guttierez-Reed is back in the court room for day two of her involuntary manslaugther trial.
WATCH LIVE with The Independent:
Watch live: Trial of Alec Baldwin’s Rust armourer continues
Watch live as the trial of Alec Baldwin’s Rust armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, continues on Friday, 23 February.
Prosecution continues to question crime scene investigator who collected ammunition from Rust set
Day two of Hannah Guttierez-Reed’s trail began with more questioning from prosecutors for crime scene investigator Marissa Poppell, who assisted with the investigation into the shooting of Halyna Hutcins.
Ms Poppell said she arrived at the Bonanza Creek crime scene between 2 and 3 pm, and assisted with the collection and packaging of evidence taken from the scene. She also sent suspected live ammunition and gathered DNA evidence as well as fingerprints to be analysed by the FBI.
The prosecution spent most of the first day establishing a chain of custody for the physical evidence collected from the “Rust” film set following the shooting.
She said that she collected casings at the crime scene, but that those casings were not DNA tested because they were too small to pull samples from.
Ms Poppell also carried out an investigation of PDQ Arm and Prop, the shop that supplied the film production with dummy ammunition.
Gutierrez-Reed’s defence attorney continues to question investigation’s integrity
Jason Bowles, the defence attorney representing “Rust” armourer Hannah Guttierez-Reed, continued to poke holes in the state’s investigation on Friday.
During the cross-examination of crime scene investigator Marissa Poppell, Mr Bowles attempted to raise doubt about her qualifications and suggest a break in the chain of custody of physical evidence collected from the scene.
The defense then showed images from PDQ Arm and Prop. The store provided the dummy ammunition for the “Rust” production. Ms Poppell collected evidence from the business. Mr Bowles pointed out that the scene at the prop shop looked disorganised and chaotic.
Trial resumes after short break — prosecution continues to question crime scene investigator
The trial has resumed after a short morning break.
The state is continuing its questioning of crime scene investigator Marissa Poppell, who helped to collect phsyical evidence — including ammunition — after the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust.”
Ms Poppell was also subjected to cross-examination earlier on Friday morning. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s defence attorney, Jason Bowles, questioned her training and the scope of her investigation during the cross-examination.