Jury convicts armorer in fatal ‘Rust’ shooting of cinematographer by Alec Baldwin

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – A jury on Wednesday found a movie weapons supervisor guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsals on the set of the western movie “The Last.” was lowered.

The verdict against film armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reid gives her new responsibility in the October 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halina Hutchins after the assistant director pleaded no contest last year to charges of negligent handling of a firearm. Ta.

Gutierrez-Reed Aso is facing a second charge of tampering with evidence, stemming from accusations that he passed a small bag of possible drugs to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection. Ta. She was acquitted of the charge.

Immediately after the verdict was read in court, the judge ordered the defendant to be held in the custody of a representative.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of “Rust,” was indicted by a grand jury in January on charges of manslaughter. While pointing a gun at Hutchins on a movie set outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, the gun went off, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

The proceedings were a preamble to the actor’s scheduled trial. in july on a single charge of manslaughter. Baldwin has pleaded not guilty.

Mr. Baldwin’s publicist and lawyer did not immediately return messages seeking comment on the ruling.

Prosecutors have argued that Gutierrez-Reed unknowingly brought live ammunition to the set of “The Last” on a ranch outside Santa Fe, and that the bullets remained for at least 12 days before the shooting. In closing arguments, prosecutor Kari Morrissey cited “constant safety failures” on the set of the movie “The Last” and Gutierrez-Reed’s “astonishing lack of diligence” in gun safety. Ta.

“We end exactly where we began in terms of seeking justice for Halina Hutchins,” Morrissey told jurors before deliberations began. “Hannah Gutierrez failed to maintain the safety of her firearm, and her death was intentional and foreseeable.”

Prosecutors allege the armorer repeatedly failed or disregarded standard gun safety procedures that could have detected live ammunition.

“It was like playing Russian roulette every time an actor used a dummy and held a gun,” Morrissey said.

Defense attorneys said problems on set were far beyond Gutierrez-Reed’s control, including mishandling of weapons by Baldwin. In court, they cited sanctions and findings by state workplace safety investigators.

Defense attorneys said at trial that prosecutors did not get close to proving where the live rounds were fired and failed to adequately investigate the Albuquerque-based ammunition supplier.

Lead attorney Jason Bowles told jurors that no member of the cast or crew believed there was live ammunition on set and that Gutierrez was “going off-script” when Baldwin pointed the revolver at Hutchins. Mr. Reed said he could not have foreseen it. Investigators did not find any video of the shooting.

“It was not in the script for Mr. Baldwin to point the weapon,” Bowles said. “She didn’t know Mr. Baldwin was trying to do the same thing she was.”

To drive the point home, Bowles played an outtake video of Baldwin firing a loaded revolver. This included shots taken after the director had ordered “cut.”

On the day of the shooting, Gutierrez-Reed was isolated in his patrol car, away from everyone else, making him a convenient scapegoat, Bowles said.

“We hired a production company on a tight budget and had A-list actors actually running the show,” Bowles said. “Ultimately, they had someone to blame.”

During the 10-day trial, FBI experts who specialize in firearms and crime scene forensics presented footage of the fatal shooting and a camera trolley that witnessed Hutchins, who turned pale and lost feeling in her legs as she died. Dozens of witnesses testified, including the operator.

Prosecutors painstakingly assembled photographic evidence that tracked the arrival and spread of live ammunition at the scene of the shooting, finding that Gutierrez-Reed repeatedly missed opportunities to ensure safety and treated basic gun procedures as optional. he claimed.

Defense attorneys have questioned the relevance of photos of the ammunition, pointing to FBI testimony that shows live rounds are completely indistinguishable from dummy rounds by visual inspection.

At the beginning of his closing argument, Bowles highlighted testimony from “The Last” armorer Sarah Zachry, who said she threw away ammunition from a gun used by an actor other than Baldwin in the panic immediately after the shooting. The defense argued that this undermined all evidence regarding the source of the ammunition.

Prosecutors said the six live rounds found at the scene had nearly identical characteristics and did not match the live rounds seized from an Albuquerque film supplier. The defense said the disorganized supply office was not searched until a month after the shooting, undermining the importance of the physical evidence.