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
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
“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.
Prosecution calls its fourth witness, Christopher Zook on the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office
The prosecution has called its fourth witness, Christopher Zook, a Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy who was on-scene the day Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the set of “Rust.”
Mr Zook confirmed that he was responsible for “clearing” the firearms collected from the scene, which means making sure the guns are unloaded and safe for handling.
He recalled finding a lever-action rifle — a style of rifle that is frequently used in Western movies — that he could not fully unload because a round had jammed inside. Mr Zook said the round that jammed inside was a 45 calibre round, which is slightly bigger than the typical round the rifle would use, suggesting it was imporperly loaded.
Next witness: Jason Hawks
The prosecution has called Jason Hawks, the owner of Hawks Consulting, which specialises in helping attorneys extract digital information from cell phones and other devices.
The prosecution asked Mr Hawsk to read text messages pulled from a phone allegedly belonging to Gutierrez-Reed.
The name on the phone was reportedly “Gorilla Grip P**** Pal.”
Mr Hawks read messages from 1 December, 2021 — shortly after Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on the set of “Rust” — between Gutierrez-Reed, a contact named “Dadcula” and her defense attorney Jason Bowles
Recess
The trial has taken a lunch break and will resume at 1pm local time
The trial has resumed
The trial has resumed.
The prosecution is continuing its questioning of Jason Hawks the owner of Hawks Consulting, which specialises in helping attorneys extract digital information from cell phones and other devices.
Defense begins cross-examination of Jason Hawks
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s defense attorneys began questioning Jason Hawks, the owner of Hawks Consulting, which specialises in helping attorneys extract digital information from cell phones and other devices.
When court readjourned, the judge rebuked individuals who copied the phone numbers of Gutierrez-Reed and another contact off of a CourtTV stream of the trial.
She said that both individuals have been harassed via text since their numbers were copied from the livestream.
Next witness: Katherine ‘Row’ Walters, ‘Rust’ unit production manager
The prosecution has called Katherine ‘Row’ Walters, the unit production manager on the “Rust” film production.
She was asked if Gutierrez-Reed requested additional armourer days and more time to train with actor and producer Alec Baldwin during the shoot.
She said the defendant never requested either of those things from her.
Witness claims no one complained about Gutierrez-Reed on set, prosecution pushes back
Katherine ‘Row’ Walters, the unit production manager on the “Rust” film production, told the defense during cross-examination that she was unaware of anyone complaining about Gutierrez-Reed on set.
The prosecution pushed back, pointing out that several members of the camera crew walked out over accidental discharges of firearms on set.
The defence objected to the line of questioning on hear-say grounds, and the prosecution changed its line of questioning after a discussion with the judge.
Trial ends early
The involuntary manslaughter trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has ended early for the day after the judge recessed the jury.
The jurors were strongly advised not to discuss the case with anyone and not to watch information about the trial.
Earlier in the trial the phone numbers for Gutierrez-Reed and another individual in her phone were shown on screen. People watching the trial on CourtTV and other streams reportedly pulled the numbers and began harassing the defendant and other individual via text messages.
Just before the trial ended, the judge recessed the jury to their chamber and the baliff was told to ask them a question. It is unclear what that question was.
Upon returning, the baliff handed the judge the jury’s response to that question and the judge ended the trial for the day.
The trial will resume at 8:30am Mountain Time on Monday.
Trial will begin shortly
Day four of the involuntary manslaughter trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will begin shortly.
Gutierrez-Reed was working as an armourer on the set of the film “Rust” on the day cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by a live round fired from a prop gun.
Prosecutors have charged Gutierrez-Reed with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and a single count of tampering with evidence.
The first two days of the trial focused on the state calling witnesses who could establish a chain of custody for physical evidence taken from the film set, and the defence trying to poke holes in the initial investigation.
Prosecution calls FBI firearms expert Bryce Ziegler
The state began Monday’s hearing by calling FBI firearms expert Bryce Ziegler to the stand.
He performed an analysis on the gun used in the “Rust” shooting that killed Halyna Hutchins.
He confirmed that the gun was a real, working firearm but was made to resemble a Colt 45 by an Italian gun manufacturing company.
Mr Ziegler also explained how the hammers on single-action revolvers work. The function of the firearm is important in this case because the prosecution is trying to prove that Gutierrez-Reed was careless while working as the set’s armourer. It will also be important to actor Alec Baldwin, who has insisted he did not pull the trigger on the day Ms Hutchins was shot and killed.