Alec Baldwin fired shot that killed one, wounded another on film set
- Thread starter spaminator
- Start date
I learned that rule when I was five, long before I was an instructor or had any military background. I say SOP, but it's a well-known firearm rule.
What he did was stupid, pointing an unchecked gun at anybody. What live ammo was doing in the gun is another question, and I'd agree the Armour should have had better control of this shit show and probably will be the most culpable..
Agreed. But do you have any evidence that Baldwin had ever taken firearms training?
Precisely. And stupid is not murder, and an accident is not manslaughter. As I said, Baldwin has a case, either for an outright acquittal as an accident, or for a reduced charge of negligent homicide.
Judge denies requests to limit evidence ahead of armorer’s trial in fatal ’Rust’ shooting
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Feb 14, 2024 • 3 minute read
The scheduled trial next week of the movie weapons supervisor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin may hinge on an enduring mystery: How did live ammunition find its way onto the set of a film set where it was expressly prohibited?
The scheduled trial next week of the movie weapons supervisor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin may hinge on an enduring mystery: How did live ammunition find its way onto the set of a film set where it was expressly prohibited?
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico judge warned special prosecutors and defense attorneys Wednesday that she will not consider any more motions as the court prepares for the involuntary manslaughter trial of the weapons supervisor on the “Rust” movie set when Alec Baldwin fatally shot the cinematographer during rehearsal.
State District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer was stern with her warning during a virtual hearing, saying the start of the trial next week would not be delayed. She considered a series of last-minute challenges by both sides that sought to narrow the scope of evidence that could be considered by jurors.
Defense attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had accused prosecutors of compromising a crucial trial witness by handing over text messages about their case to an Albuquerque-based supplier for “Rust” — whom they contend is the source of live ammunition that made its way onto the set in place of dummy ammunition.
Prosecutors acknowledged during the hearing that others, including Baldwin’s attorneys, also would have had access to the communications before they were deleted from a server that was meant to be used by defense attorneys.
Attorney Jason Bowles called the release of the information by prosecutors “cavalier and reckless” and suggested that the fact-finding process had been corrupted and that a key witness was now tainted.
“Out of fundamental fairness, how can a defendant have a fair trial when a chief adverse witness has all the attorney-client texts?” Bowles asked the judge.
In denying the plea, the judge pointed out that Gutierrez-Reed had earlier consented to authorities searching her cellphone and that it was her attorneys who needed to stipulate what, if any, information needed to be excluded from the search. The judge added that she reviewed the texts in question and that they were not material to Bowles’ legal strategy.
The judge did side with the defense in denying a request by prosecutors to prevent jurors from hearing about a scathing report from state regulators about the “Rust” shooting. That report said the production company did not develop a process for ensuring live rounds were kept away from the set and that it failed to give the armorer enough time to thoroughly inventory ammunition.
Prosecutors had wanted the regulators’ conclusions kept out of the trial because it might be used to argue that “Rust” management was responsible for safety failures and not Gutierrez-Reed.
Bowles argued that the report shows there were numerous instances of negligence on the set.
The upcoming trial is expected to revolve around the question of how live rounds ended up on the set. Authorities during their investigation recovered recovered six live rounds, including the round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.
Special prosecutors say they will present “substantial evidence” at the trial that movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed unwittingly brought live rounds onto the set when she first began to work on the film.
Defense attorneys said during Wednesday’s hearing that they have “plenty of evidence” that it was somebody else who put those live rounds on the set.
Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge. If convicted, she could face up to 1.5 years in jail and a $5,000 fine under New Mexico law.
The proceedings against the armorer hold implications for Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on “Rust.” He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter and could face a trial later this year. Baldwin has said he assumed the gun had only inert dummy rounds inside the weapon that can’t fire and that someone else is responsible.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Feb 14, 2024 • 3 minute read
The scheduled trial next week of the movie weapons supervisor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin may hinge on an enduring mystery: How did live ammunition find its way onto the set of a film set where it was expressly prohibited?
The scheduled trial next week of the movie weapons supervisor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin may hinge on an enduring mystery: How did live ammunition find its way onto the set of a film set where it was expressly prohibited?
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico judge warned special prosecutors and defense attorneys Wednesday that she will not consider any more motions as the court prepares for the involuntary manslaughter trial of the weapons supervisor on the “Rust” movie set when Alec Baldwin fatally shot the cinematographer during rehearsal.
State District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer was stern with her warning during a virtual hearing, saying the start of the trial next week would not be delayed. She considered a series of last-minute challenges by both sides that sought to narrow the scope of evidence that could be considered by jurors.
Defense attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had accused prosecutors of compromising a crucial trial witness by handing over text messages about their case to an Albuquerque-based supplier for “Rust” — whom they contend is the source of live ammunition that made its way onto the set in place of dummy ammunition.
Prosecutors acknowledged during the hearing that others, including Baldwin’s attorneys, also would have had access to the communications before they were deleted from a server that was meant to be used by defense attorneys.
Attorney Jason Bowles called the release of the information by prosecutors “cavalier and reckless” and suggested that the fact-finding process had been corrupted and that a key witness was now tainted.
“Out of fundamental fairness, how can a defendant have a fair trial when a chief adverse witness has all the attorney-client texts?” Bowles asked the judge.
In denying the plea, the judge pointed out that Gutierrez-Reed had earlier consented to authorities searching her cellphone and that it was her attorneys who needed to stipulate what, if any, information needed to be excluded from the search. The judge added that she reviewed the texts in question and that they were not material to Bowles’ legal strategy.
The judge did side with the defense in denying a request by prosecutors to prevent jurors from hearing about a scathing report from state regulators about the “Rust” shooting. That report said the production company did not develop a process for ensuring live rounds were kept away from the set and that it failed to give the armorer enough time to thoroughly inventory ammunition.
Prosecutors had wanted the regulators’ conclusions kept out of the trial because it might be used to argue that “Rust” management was responsible for safety failures and not Gutierrez-Reed.
Bowles argued that the report shows there were numerous instances of negligence on the set.
The upcoming trial is expected to revolve around the question of how live rounds ended up on the set. Authorities during their investigation recovered recovered six live rounds, including the round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.
Special prosecutors say they will present “substantial evidence” at the trial that movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed unwittingly brought live rounds onto the set when she first began to work on the film.
Defense attorneys said during Wednesday’s hearing that they have “plenty of evidence” that it was somebody else who put those live rounds on the set.
Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge. If convicted, she could face up to 1.5 years in jail and a $5,000 fine under New Mexico law.
The proceedings against the armorer hold implications for Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on “Rust.” He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter and could face a trial later this year. Baldwin has said he assumed the gun had only inert dummy rounds inside the weapon that can’t fire and that someone else is responsible.
Judge denies requests to limit evidence ahead of armorer’s trial in fatal ’Rust’ shooting
State District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer was stern with her warning during a virtual hearing.
Jury selection begins for trial of 'Rust' armourer in fatal 2021 shooting by Alec Baldwin
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee
Published Feb 21, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read
SANTA FE, N.M. — Prosecutors in New Mexico are pursuing accountability for the 2021 death of a cinematographer who was fatally shot by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal for the Western film “Rust.”
Before Baldwin’s case progresses, the armourer on the set is being tried on charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. Jury selection in Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s trial started Wednesday in Santa Fe.
Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintains she’s not directly to blame for Halyna Hutchins’ death. Baldwin also has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in a separate case.
The process for selecting 12 jurors began with a pool of 70 residents from the Santa Fe area, including non-English speakers, a welder, a teacher, a graduate student and a mother who provides for six children. A prosecutor began with questions for jurors about their exposure to intensive media coverage and social media chatter about the case.
Prosecutors plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed loaded a live round into the gun that killed Hutchins after unknowingly bringing live ammunition onto a set where it was expressly prohibited. They contend the armourer missed multiple opportunities to ensure safety on the movie set.
Defence attorneys have said they have evidence that will show otherwise.
The evidence and testimony has implications for Baldwin, who was pointing a gun at Hutchins during an October 2021 rehearsal outside Santa Fe when she was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded.
Here are some things to know about the Gutierrez-Reed trial:
CHARGES
Gutierrez-Reed, the stepdaughter of renowned sharpshooter and weapons consultant Thell Reed, was 25 at the time of Hutchins’ death. “Rust” was her second assignment as an armourer in a feature film.
Gutierrez-Reed faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The evidence tampering charge stems from accusations she handed a small bag of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection by law enforcement.
Her attorneys say that charge is prosecutors’ attempt to smear Gutierrez-Reed’s character. The bag was thrown away without testing the contents, defence attorneys said.
More than 40 people are listed as witnesses during the trial that’s scheduled to run through March 6.
AMMUNITION
Authorities located six rounds of ammunition on the movie set in locations that included a box, a gun belt and a bandolier worn by Baldwin. Baldwin has said he assumed the gun only had rounds that couldn’t be fired.
Special prosecutors have argued in court filings that Hutchins died because of a series of negligent acts by Gutierrez-Reed. They say she should have noticed live rounds and intervened long before the shooting.
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys say she’s unfairly been scapegoated. They contend live rounds arrived on set from an Albuquerque-based supplier of dummy rounds. They also pointed to a broader atmosphere of safety failures that were uncovered during an investigation by state workplace safety inspectors that go beyond Gutierrez-Reed.
Additionally, Gutierrez-Reed is accused in another case of carrying a gun into a bar in downtown Santa Fe in violation of state law. Her attorneys say that charge has been used to try to pressure Gutierrez-Reed into a false confession about the handling of live ammunition on the “Rust” set.
WORKPLACE SAFETY
Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for storage, maintenance and handling of firearms and ammunition on set and for training members of the cast who would be handling firearms, according to state workplace safety regulators.
Live rounds are typically distinguished from dummy rounds by a small hole in the dummy’s brass cartridge, indicating there is no explosive inside or by shaking the round to hear the clatter of a BB that is inserted inside. A missing or dimpled primer at the bottom of the cartridge is another trait of dummy rounds.
The company Rust Movie Productions paid a $100,000 fine to the state following a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols. The report included testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set before Hutchins was shot.
Prosecutors urged a judge to keep regulators’ conclusions out of the trial because those might be used to argue that “Rust” management was responsible for safety failures, not Gutierrez-Reed.
The judge in the case sided last week with Gutierrez-Reed. The report says the production company did not develop a process for ensuring live rounds were kept away from the set and that it failed to give the armourer enough time to thoroughly inventory ammunition.
BALDWIN
Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on “Rust,” was indicted in January on an involuntary manslaughter charge.
Baldwin has said he pulled back the gun’s hammer — not the trigger — and the weapon fired.
The charge against Baldwin provides two alternative standards for prosecution, one based on the negligent use of a firearm and another tied to negligence without due caution or “circumspection,” also defined as “total disregard or indifference for the safety of others.” Legal experts say the latter standard could broaden the investigation beyond Baldwin’s handling of the gun.
Prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis initially dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. A more recent analysis of the gun concluded the “trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”
Industry-wide guidance that applied to “Rust” says to “treat all firearms as if they are loaded.”
A trial date hasn’t been set for Baldwin.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee
Published Feb 21, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read
SANTA FE, N.M. — Prosecutors in New Mexico are pursuing accountability for the 2021 death of a cinematographer who was fatally shot by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal for the Western film “Rust.”
Before Baldwin’s case progresses, the armourer on the set is being tried on charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. Jury selection in Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s trial started Wednesday in Santa Fe.
Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintains she’s not directly to blame for Halyna Hutchins’ death. Baldwin also has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in a separate case.
The process for selecting 12 jurors began with a pool of 70 residents from the Santa Fe area, including non-English speakers, a welder, a teacher, a graduate student and a mother who provides for six children. A prosecutor began with questions for jurors about their exposure to intensive media coverage and social media chatter about the case.
Prosecutors plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed loaded a live round into the gun that killed Hutchins after unknowingly bringing live ammunition onto a set where it was expressly prohibited. They contend the armourer missed multiple opportunities to ensure safety on the movie set.
Defence attorneys have said they have evidence that will show otherwise.
The evidence and testimony has implications for Baldwin, who was pointing a gun at Hutchins during an October 2021 rehearsal outside Santa Fe when she was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded.
Here are some things to know about the Gutierrez-Reed trial:
CHARGES
Gutierrez-Reed, the stepdaughter of renowned sharpshooter and weapons consultant Thell Reed, was 25 at the time of Hutchins’ death. “Rust” was her second assignment as an armourer in a feature film.
Gutierrez-Reed faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The evidence tampering charge stems from accusations she handed a small bag of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection by law enforcement.
Her attorneys say that charge is prosecutors’ attempt to smear Gutierrez-Reed’s character. The bag was thrown away without testing the contents, defence attorneys said.
More than 40 people are listed as witnesses during the trial that’s scheduled to run through March 6.
AMMUNITION
Authorities located six rounds of ammunition on the movie set in locations that included a box, a gun belt and a bandolier worn by Baldwin. Baldwin has said he assumed the gun only had rounds that couldn’t be fired.
Special prosecutors have argued in court filings that Hutchins died because of a series of negligent acts by Gutierrez-Reed. They say she should have noticed live rounds and intervened long before the shooting.
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys say she’s unfairly been scapegoated. They contend live rounds arrived on set from an Albuquerque-based supplier of dummy rounds. They also pointed to a broader atmosphere of safety failures that were uncovered during an investigation by state workplace safety inspectors that go beyond Gutierrez-Reed.
Additionally, Gutierrez-Reed is accused in another case of carrying a gun into a bar in downtown Santa Fe in violation of state law. Her attorneys say that charge has been used to try to pressure Gutierrez-Reed into a false confession about the handling of live ammunition on the “Rust” set.
WORKPLACE SAFETY
Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for storage, maintenance and handling of firearms and ammunition on set and for training members of the cast who would be handling firearms, according to state workplace safety regulators.
Live rounds are typically distinguished from dummy rounds by a small hole in the dummy’s brass cartridge, indicating there is no explosive inside or by shaking the round to hear the clatter of a BB that is inserted inside. A missing or dimpled primer at the bottom of the cartridge is another trait of dummy rounds.
The company Rust Movie Productions paid a $100,000 fine to the state following a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols. The report included testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set before Hutchins was shot.
Prosecutors urged a judge to keep regulators’ conclusions out of the trial because those might be used to argue that “Rust” management was responsible for safety failures, not Gutierrez-Reed.
The judge in the case sided last week with Gutierrez-Reed. The report says the production company did not develop a process for ensuring live rounds were kept away from the set and that it failed to give the armourer enough time to thoroughly inventory ammunition.
BALDWIN
Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on “Rust,” was indicted in January on an involuntary manslaughter charge.
Baldwin has said he pulled back the gun’s hammer — not the trigger — and the weapon fired.
The charge against Baldwin provides two alternative standards for prosecution, one based on the negligent use of a firearm and another tied to negligence without due caution or “circumspection,” also defined as “total disregard or indifference for the safety of others.” Legal experts say the latter standard could broaden the investigation beyond Baldwin’s handling of the gun.
Prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis initially dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. A more recent analysis of the gun concluded the “trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”
Industry-wide guidance that applied to “Rust” says to “treat all firearms as if they are loaded.”
A trial date hasn’t been set for Baldwin.
Jury selection begins for trial of 'Rust' armourer in fatal 2021 shooting by Alec Baldwin
Before Baldwin's case progresses, the armourer on the set will be tried on charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence.
Witness at trial recounts fatal shooting of cinematographer by Alec Baldwin
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee
Published Feb 26, 2024 • 3 minute read
SANTA FE, N.M. — Testimony at trial Monday turned emotional and argumentative as an eyewitness recounted the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a movie rehearsal and described gun misfires, crew members walking out and a “ludicrous” pace of work.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was the armourer for the upcoming Western movie “Rust,” is fighting charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence at a trial that entered its third day of testimony Monday. A trial date was set for Baldwin in July on a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. He has pleaded not guilty.
Defence attorneys highlighted Gutierrez-Reed’s unusual disadvantage and vulnerability at the time as a part-time, 24-year-old armourer without trade-union membership on a set where few dared confront Baldwin directly about concerns about safety and related budgeting.
Monday’s testimony veered into the actor’s handling of the revolver that killed Hutchins — including a video of Baldwin twice practising a cross-draw manoeuvre for a camera on Oct. 21, 2021, shortly before the fatal shooting that day. Investigators found no video of the shooting.
The video of Baldwin was accompanied by searing testimony from Ross Addiego, a front-line “Rust” crew member who helped guide the film’s camera. Addiego said that in the moments after a shot rang out on set, he made eye contact with a wounded Hutchins and tried to calm wounded director Joel Souza.
“The first person I made eye contact with was Halyna, who was clearly injured. In fact, she was starting to go flush and I think holding her right side,” said Addiego, breaking into tears. “I think I yelled out, ‘If you can’t help, get … out of here, and someone call 911.”‘
Prosecutors guided Addiego through testimony in which he described his anger and frustration with safety procedures on set, including the sight of a storage cart for guns and ammunition that frequently appeared to be unattended and Gutierrez-Reed’s work as an armourer in charge of loading guns with blank and dummy rounds. Investigators found six live rounds on the set of “Rust,” including the one that killed Hutchins.
Addiego noted two gun misfires on set — confirmed as blank rounds without projectiles by workplace safety regulators — and just one safety meeting over the course about two work weeks, when daily meetings are the norm.
He said he lodged safety complaints prior to the fatal shooting with union representatives and the film’s top safety official, assistant director David Halls, who pleaded no contest last year to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and may be called on to testify.
“At times we seemed to be working at ludicrous speeds,” said Addiego, who also testified to the grand jury that indicted Baldwin in January. “We always seemed to be rushed and under the gun.”
In a tense cross-examination, defence attorney Jason Bowles asked Addiego whether he was aware that Gutierrez-Reed had unsuccessfully requested more time for focus on her responsibilities as armourer instead of other prop duties, such as rolling cowboy cigarettes.
“Did you ever stand up to Mr. Baldwin and say, ‘No, we’re not going to move this fast?”‘ Bowles asked.
“That’s not my job,” Addiego said.
Bowles continued: “With everybody else, grown men, not standing up to Mr. Baldwin, wouldn’t you find that difficult for her also?”
He noted that Addiego has sued Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions and questioned his motives in testifying.
“Are you hoping that you can come in and testify here today and something happens to Ms. Gutierrez-Reed and it will help your lawsuit?” Bowles asked.
“I’m hoping for justice, sir,” Addiego responded. “Two people where injured on a film set. That has affected not only me, that has affected the film industry.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee
Published Feb 26, 2024 • 3 minute read
SANTA FE, N.M. — Testimony at trial Monday turned emotional and argumentative as an eyewitness recounted the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a movie rehearsal and described gun misfires, crew members walking out and a “ludicrous” pace of work.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was the armourer for the upcoming Western movie “Rust,” is fighting charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence at a trial that entered its third day of testimony Monday. A trial date was set for Baldwin in July on a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. He has pleaded not guilty.
Defence attorneys highlighted Gutierrez-Reed’s unusual disadvantage and vulnerability at the time as a part-time, 24-year-old armourer without trade-union membership on a set where few dared confront Baldwin directly about concerns about safety and related budgeting.
Monday’s testimony veered into the actor’s handling of the revolver that killed Hutchins — including a video of Baldwin twice practising a cross-draw manoeuvre for a camera on Oct. 21, 2021, shortly before the fatal shooting that day. Investigators found no video of the shooting.
The video of Baldwin was accompanied by searing testimony from Ross Addiego, a front-line “Rust” crew member who helped guide the film’s camera. Addiego said that in the moments after a shot rang out on set, he made eye contact with a wounded Hutchins and tried to calm wounded director Joel Souza.
“The first person I made eye contact with was Halyna, who was clearly injured. In fact, she was starting to go flush and I think holding her right side,” said Addiego, breaking into tears. “I think I yelled out, ‘If you can’t help, get … out of here, and someone call 911.”‘
Prosecutors guided Addiego through testimony in which he described his anger and frustration with safety procedures on set, including the sight of a storage cart for guns and ammunition that frequently appeared to be unattended and Gutierrez-Reed’s work as an armourer in charge of loading guns with blank and dummy rounds. Investigators found six live rounds on the set of “Rust,” including the one that killed Hutchins.
Addiego noted two gun misfires on set — confirmed as blank rounds without projectiles by workplace safety regulators — and just one safety meeting over the course about two work weeks, when daily meetings are the norm.
He said he lodged safety complaints prior to the fatal shooting with union representatives and the film’s top safety official, assistant director David Halls, who pleaded no contest last year to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and may be called on to testify.
“At times we seemed to be working at ludicrous speeds,” said Addiego, who also testified to the grand jury that indicted Baldwin in January. “We always seemed to be rushed and under the gun.”
In a tense cross-examination, defence attorney Jason Bowles asked Addiego whether he was aware that Gutierrez-Reed had unsuccessfully requested more time for focus on her responsibilities as armourer instead of other prop duties, such as rolling cowboy cigarettes.
“Did you ever stand up to Mr. Baldwin and say, ‘No, we’re not going to move this fast?”‘ Bowles asked.
“That’s not my job,” Addiego said.
Bowles continued: “With everybody else, grown men, not standing up to Mr. Baldwin, wouldn’t you find that difficult for her also?”
He noted that Addiego has sued Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions and questioned his motives in testifying.
“Are you hoping that you can come in and testify here today and something happens to Ms. Gutierrez-Reed and it will help your lawsuit?” Bowles asked.
“I’m hoping for justice, sir,” Addiego responded. “Two people where injured on a film set. That has affected not only me, that has affected the film industry.”
Witness at trial recounts fatal shooting of cinematographer by Alec Baldwin
Testimony at trial Monday turned emotional and argumentative as an eyewitness recounted the shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin.
Ammo supplier says he provided no live rounds in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee
Published Mar 05, 2024 • 3 minute read
SANTA FE, N.M. — An ammunition supplier testified at trial Monday that he only provided inert dummy rounds to the Western film “Rust” where actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in 2021, though he also was handling live rounds from another production at that time.
Albuquerque-based movie firearms and ammunition supplier Seth Kenney took the stand at the trial of “Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the death of cinematagropher Halyna Hutchins.
Kenney told a jury he cleaned and repackaged ammunition to “Rust” that was previously supplied to a production in Texas, handing off a box of 50 inert dummy rounds containing no gunpower to the “Rust” props supervisor on Oct. 12, 2021.
Kenney also said he scrubbed the exterior of the rounds and cleaned out residue inside in each of them to ensure the telltale rattle of a metal pellet inside dummy rounds could be heard for safety purposes.
The outcome of trial may hinge on testimony about the source of six live rounds discovered on the “Rust” set — including the one from Baldwin’s gun. Live ammunition is expressly prohibited on movie sets by the industry and union guidelines.
Prosecutors say Gutierrez-Reed is to blame for unwittingly bringing live ammunition on set and that she flouted basic safety protocols for weapons handling. She has pleaded not guilty.
Defense attorneys say their client is being smeared and unfairly scapegoated for problems beyond her control, including Baldwin’s handling of the weapons. On Monday, they highlighted images of Kenney’s “cluttered” business, a storage system without written inventories, and Kenney’s “hazy” recollection of his timeline for receiving live rounds for another production.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on “Rust,” was separately indicted by a grand jury last month on an involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with the fatal shooting of Hutchins. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled for July.
Baldwin was pointing the gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set outside of Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
In Monday’s testimony, Kenney said he provided “Rust” props master Sarah Zachry, who also managed weapons and ammunition for the production, with dummy ammunition retrieved from a props storage truck on the Texas set of the television series “1883.”
“Did you ever give any live ammunition to Sarah Zachry?” prosecutor Kari Morrissey asked Kenney. He responded, “No.”
Responding to additional questions, Kenney said Monday that didn’t have any ammunition that looked like the live rounds investigators found on the set of “Rust.”
At the same time, Kenney acknowledged he stored live rounds that were used in a live-ammunition shooting exercise for actors on “1883,” arranged at a private ranch of series creator Taylor Sheridan.
Kenney said the live rounds from that shooting exercise were brought back to his shop, stored in a bathroom within a gray plastic container marked “live rounds” on the outside.
The live rounds were initially provided to “1883” by Gutierrez-Reed’s step-father, the Hollywood sharp shooter and weapons consultant Thell Reed.
Investigators from the Santa Fe sheriff’s office searched Kenney’s Albuquerque supply shop several weeks after the fatal shooting, seizing live rounds that were sent to the FBI for analysis and comparison with live rounds discovered on the set of “Rust.”
Defense attorney Jason Bowles has argued that Kenney wasn’t properly investigated for his role as a “Rust” supplier. Bowles on Monday highlighted the fact that the search of Kenney’s business took place about a month after the fatal shooting.
Kenney’s testimony also delved into his disagreements with Gutierrez-Reed about her job performance on the set of “Rust” in connection with a gun misfire — prior to the fatal shooting.
Testimony Monday also delved into evidence related to a tampering charge against Gutierrez-Reed. That charge stems from accusations that she handed a small bag of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection.
A crew member from food services testified that she went to Gutierrez-Reed’s hotel room the evening after the fatal shooting to keep the armorer company at the request of a union steward. She said Gutierrez-Reed handed her some white powder in a plastic baggie within another baggie, and that she felt insulted and threw it into a hallway garbage container after leaving the room.
“In fairness, you probably had five seconds to look at this bag, is that right?” said Bowles, the defense attorney. “You have a belief, but you don’t know for certain, what was in that bag.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee
Published Mar 05, 2024 • 3 minute read
SANTA FE, N.M. — An ammunition supplier testified at trial Monday that he only provided inert dummy rounds to the Western film “Rust” where actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in 2021, though he also was handling live rounds from another production at that time.
Albuquerque-based movie firearms and ammunition supplier Seth Kenney took the stand at the trial of “Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the death of cinematagropher Halyna Hutchins.
Kenney told a jury he cleaned and repackaged ammunition to “Rust” that was previously supplied to a production in Texas, handing off a box of 50 inert dummy rounds containing no gunpower to the “Rust” props supervisor on Oct. 12, 2021.
Kenney also said he scrubbed the exterior of the rounds and cleaned out residue inside in each of them to ensure the telltale rattle of a metal pellet inside dummy rounds could be heard for safety purposes.
The outcome of trial may hinge on testimony about the source of six live rounds discovered on the “Rust” set — including the one from Baldwin’s gun. Live ammunition is expressly prohibited on movie sets by the industry and union guidelines.
Prosecutors say Gutierrez-Reed is to blame for unwittingly bringing live ammunition on set and that she flouted basic safety protocols for weapons handling. She has pleaded not guilty.
Defense attorneys say their client is being smeared and unfairly scapegoated for problems beyond her control, including Baldwin’s handling of the weapons. On Monday, they highlighted images of Kenney’s “cluttered” business, a storage system without written inventories, and Kenney’s “hazy” recollection of his timeline for receiving live rounds for another production.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on “Rust,” was separately indicted by a grand jury last month on an involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with the fatal shooting of Hutchins. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled for July.
Baldwin was pointing the gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set outside of Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
In Monday’s testimony, Kenney said he provided “Rust” props master Sarah Zachry, who also managed weapons and ammunition for the production, with dummy ammunition retrieved from a props storage truck on the Texas set of the television series “1883.”
“Did you ever give any live ammunition to Sarah Zachry?” prosecutor Kari Morrissey asked Kenney. He responded, “No.”
Responding to additional questions, Kenney said Monday that didn’t have any ammunition that looked like the live rounds investigators found on the set of “Rust.”
At the same time, Kenney acknowledged he stored live rounds that were used in a live-ammunition shooting exercise for actors on “1883,” arranged at a private ranch of series creator Taylor Sheridan.
Kenney said the live rounds from that shooting exercise were brought back to his shop, stored in a bathroom within a gray plastic container marked “live rounds” on the outside.
The live rounds were initially provided to “1883” by Gutierrez-Reed’s step-father, the Hollywood sharp shooter and weapons consultant Thell Reed.
Investigators from the Santa Fe sheriff’s office searched Kenney’s Albuquerque supply shop several weeks after the fatal shooting, seizing live rounds that were sent to the FBI for analysis and comparison with live rounds discovered on the set of “Rust.”
Defense attorney Jason Bowles has argued that Kenney wasn’t properly investigated for his role as a “Rust” supplier. Bowles on Monday highlighted the fact that the search of Kenney’s business took place about a month after the fatal shooting.
Kenney’s testimony also delved into his disagreements with Gutierrez-Reed about her job performance on the set of “Rust” in connection with a gun misfire — prior to the fatal shooting.
Testimony Monday also delved into evidence related to a tampering charge against Gutierrez-Reed. That charge stems from accusations that she handed a small bag of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection.
A crew member from food services testified that she went to Gutierrez-Reed’s hotel room the evening after the fatal shooting to keep the armorer company at the request of a union steward. She said Gutierrez-Reed handed her some white powder in a plastic baggie within another baggie, and that she felt insulted and threw it into a hallway garbage container after leaving the room.
“In fairness, you probably had five seconds to look at this bag, is that right?” said Bowles, the defense attorney. “You have a belief, but you don’t know for certain, what was in that bag.”
Ammo supplier says he provided no live rounds in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin
An ammunition supplier testified at trial Monday that he only provided inert dummy rounds to the Western film "Rust"
She'll get a suspended sentence and will never work again.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed: Rust armourer guilty of Halyna Hutchins' death
9 hours agoBy Samantha Granville, BBC News, Los Angeles
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0:44
Moment Rust armourer is found guilty of manslaughter
A movie set weapons handler who loaded a gun for actor Alec Baldwin before it fired and killed a cinematographer has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found not guilty of a second charge - tampering with evidence over the 2021 shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.
The 26-year-old faces up to 18 months in jail. She will be sentenced later.
Mr Baldwin, 65, also faces a manslaughter trial in July.
Ms Hutchins, 42, was killed after a gun Mr Baldwin used in a rehearsal fired a live round on the set of the Western in New Mexico.
Mr Baldwin could not have foreseen that there was a live round on set because the "safety, maintenance and care of the firearm and the ammunition" was the responsibility of the armourer, Misty Marris told CNN.
Jurors deliberated for three hours before returning Wednesday's verdict.
Gutierrez-Reed remained expressionless as she learned her fate.
As she was led away by two officers she told her weeping mother, "It'll be OK," according to Reuters.
Ms Hutchins' parents and her sister said they were "satisfied" with the verdict.
Halyna Hutchins was killed while on set in 2021
Their statement added: "We look forward to the justice system continuing to make sure that everyone else who is responsible for Halyna's death is required to face the legal consequences for their actions."
"It means that someone has been held legally criminally culpable for the death of Halyna Hutchins," Misty Marris told CNN.
She said Mr Baldwin would argue that "it was not foreseeable that there was a real bullet in that gun".
Prosecutors said Gutierrez-Reed had failed to ensure the weapon was only loaded with dummy rounds - fake bullets used to look and sound like real ones.
"This case is about constant, never-ending safety failures that resulted in the death of a human being," prosecutor Kari T Morrissey said during closing arguments on Wednesday.
Gutierrez-Reed was "negligent", "careless" and "thoughtless" when she failed to notice that live bullets had mixed with dummy rounds in a box of ammunition on set, Ms Morrissey told the jurors.
One of those bullets was in the firearm that was used by Mr Baldwin, prosecutors said.
1:51
WATCH: Bodycam footage from Rust shooting aftermath
Prosecutors also presented evidence that Gutierrez-Reed had brought a box of live bullets to the New Mexico film set from her California home. They said these live rounds slowly spread throughout the set over the course of 12 days.
Ms Morrissey said she believed the armourer did not intend to bring live rounds to the set, but rather that Ms Hutchins' death was a case of tragic negligence.
The prosecutor added that Gutierrez-Reed was more "worried about her career" and less about the victims in the aftermath of the shooting.
Gutierrez-Reed did not testify in the two-week trial, but her lawyer said in closing arguments that prosecutors had failed to prove his client was the sole person responsible for the fatal shooting.
"The [ammunition] boxes don't matter, because we don't know what was in them three or four days before," her lawyer, Jason Bowles told the jury, arguing his client did not know that there were real bullets on set.
Mr Bowles also blamed Mr Baldwin, arguing that he had "gone off-script" when he pointed the gun at film crew.
"It was not in the script for Mr Baldwin to point the weapon," he said. "She didn't know that Mr Baldwin was going to do what he did."
He vowed to file an appeal.
Trial witnesses included the film's director, Joel Souza, who was also shot in the incident but survived.
Mr Souza said he remembered looking up at Gutierrez-Reed after he was shot, and hearing her repeatedly say: "I'm sorry, Joel."
The jury was also shown emotional and distressing footage of the aftermath of the shooting, when the Colt .45 revolver held by Mr Baldwin went off.
It included a video that appeared to show Ms Hutchins' final moments, with paramedics frantically trying to save her life.
Gutierrez-Reed was also found not guilty of evidence tampering stemming from accusations that she attempted to dispose of a small bag of narcotics after the shooting.
Last year, the movie's cast and crew finished filming in tribute to Ms Hutchins, with her husband serving as an executive producer.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68377798
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’Rust’ armorer’s trial gives Alec Baldwin’s team window into how his trial could unfold
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee And Andrew Dalton
Published Mar 07, 2024 • 4 minute read
SANTA FE, N.M. — The trial and conviction of a movie armorer in connection with a fatal shooting on the set of the Western movie “Rust” has given Alec Baldwin and his legal team a unusual window into how his own trial in the death could unfold.
A New Mexico jury deliberated less than three hours Wednesday before convicting armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. She was swiftly taken into custody as she awaits sentencing, facing up to 18 months in prison.
Baldwin figured prominently into testimony and closing arguments over two weeks that highlighted his authority as a co-producer and the lead actor on “Rust.” Both the prosecution and defense in Gutierrez-Reed’s trial dissected video footage of Baldwin before the fatal shooting for clues about breakdowns in firearms safety.
Baldwin’s trial is scheduled for July and will involve the same judge and prosecutors as well as many of the same witnesses. Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer, but not the trigger, and the weapon fired, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Having seen Gutierrez-Reed’s trial play out will be a boon to Baldwin and his legal team, said Emily D. Baker, a legal analyst and former Los Angeles deputy district attorney who wasn’t involved in the case but followed it closely.
“They’re in the incredible position of getting to watch this prosecutor in action, see how this judge works, and come in knowing exactly what these experts are going to say and how they present to the jury,” Baker said Wednesday. “I don’t think Baldwin’s going to want to deal in this case, and I think his legal team will tell him this is a very different case than the case against Hannah.”
A weapons expert for the prosecution in Gutierrez-Reed’s case gave strong testimony, Baker said. But the armorer expert was aligned with what Baldwin’s team has been saying all along — that it wasn’t his job to check the weapon, Baker said.
Expert witness and movie firearms consultant Bryan Carpenter testified that images showed Baldwin firing blanks toward a camera within a “no-go” zone at close range, flouting safety protocols as he commanded crew members to quickly reload his revolver, and waving a gun like a pointing stick after the close of one scene. Another clip captures the sound of Baldwin firing a gun after a director calls out, “Cut!”
Investigators haven’t found any video recordings of the shooting, which took place during a rehearsal inside a makeshift church on Oct. 21, 2021, on a movie set outside Santa Fe. But Gutierrez-Reed’s trial included previously undisclosed testimony from eyewitnesses to the shooting.
Those witnesses included Souza, who felt the shock of a bullet’s impact as he moved in for a view of the camera monitor — but never saw the gun that shot him.
A camera-dolly operator and the assistant director Dave Halls also gave visceral accounts of the revolver firing and the aftermath. Script writer Mamie Mitchell testified that the script didn’t call for Baldwin to point the gun.
“Alec Baldwin’s conduct and his lack of gun safety inside that church on that day is something that he’s going to have to answer for,” prosecutor Kari Morrissey said in her closing arguments against Gutierrez-Reed. “Not with you and not today. That’ll be with another jury, on another day.”
Morrissey and co-counsel Jason Lewis presented the case against Baldwin to a grand jury in January and secured an indictment on the single felony count that gives them two pathways to prosecution. A recent analysis of the gun gave them the opportunity to reboot the case after an initial involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin was dismissed.
That analysis by Forensic Science Services in Arizona concluded “the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”
The author of an earlier FBI report on the gun testified at the Gutierrez-Reed trial that the gun arrived with all safety features in working order, and that only way the revolver would fire with the hammer full retracted was to strike it with a mallet and break it.
Defense attorneys for Baldwin have shown no sign of compromise with special prosecutors appointed by Santa Fe-area District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, who is running for reelection and confronting a Democratic primary challenge by a former DA in June.
A February fundraising message from Carmack-Altwies vowed justice for Hutchins and her family “no matter who else is involved,” without naming Baldwin.
“No one avoids culpability due to fame, wealth, or connections in my jurisdiction,” she wrote.
During Gutierrez-Reed’s trial last week, one witness for the prosecution stated the obvious as a prosecutor asked, “Is Mr. Baldwin on trial today?”
“It appears that he is a bit, yes,” said Ross Addiego, a crew member who witnessed the fatal shooting at close range and has sued Baldwin in civil court.
The lawsuit is one in a series of legal actions, including wrongful death claims filed by members of Hutchins’ family, centered on accusations that the defendants were lax with safety standards. Baldwin and other defendants have disputed those allegations.
The filming of “Rust” moved to Montana after the shooting in New Mexico, under an agreement with Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, that made him an executive producer.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee And Andrew Dalton
Published Mar 07, 2024 • 4 minute read
SANTA FE, N.M. — The trial and conviction of a movie armorer in connection with a fatal shooting on the set of the Western movie “Rust” has given Alec Baldwin and his legal team a unusual window into how his own trial in the death could unfold.
A New Mexico jury deliberated less than three hours Wednesday before convicting armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. She was swiftly taken into custody as she awaits sentencing, facing up to 18 months in prison.
Baldwin figured prominently into testimony and closing arguments over two weeks that highlighted his authority as a co-producer and the lead actor on “Rust.” Both the prosecution and defense in Gutierrez-Reed’s trial dissected video footage of Baldwin before the fatal shooting for clues about breakdowns in firearms safety.
Baldwin’s trial is scheduled for July and will involve the same judge and prosecutors as well as many of the same witnesses. Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer, but not the trigger, and the weapon fired, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Having seen Gutierrez-Reed’s trial play out will be a boon to Baldwin and his legal team, said Emily D. Baker, a legal analyst and former Los Angeles deputy district attorney who wasn’t involved in the case but followed it closely.
“They’re in the incredible position of getting to watch this prosecutor in action, see how this judge works, and come in knowing exactly what these experts are going to say and how they present to the jury,” Baker said Wednesday. “I don’t think Baldwin’s going to want to deal in this case, and I think his legal team will tell him this is a very different case than the case against Hannah.”
A weapons expert for the prosecution in Gutierrez-Reed’s case gave strong testimony, Baker said. But the armorer expert was aligned with what Baldwin’s team has been saying all along — that it wasn’t his job to check the weapon, Baker said.
Expert witness and movie firearms consultant Bryan Carpenter testified that images showed Baldwin firing blanks toward a camera within a “no-go” zone at close range, flouting safety protocols as he commanded crew members to quickly reload his revolver, and waving a gun like a pointing stick after the close of one scene. Another clip captures the sound of Baldwin firing a gun after a director calls out, “Cut!”
Investigators haven’t found any video recordings of the shooting, which took place during a rehearsal inside a makeshift church on Oct. 21, 2021, on a movie set outside Santa Fe. But Gutierrez-Reed’s trial included previously undisclosed testimony from eyewitnesses to the shooting.
Those witnesses included Souza, who felt the shock of a bullet’s impact as he moved in for a view of the camera monitor — but never saw the gun that shot him.
A camera-dolly operator and the assistant director Dave Halls also gave visceral accounts of the revolver firing and the aftermath. Script writer Mamie Mitchell testified that the script didn’t call for Baldwin to point the gun.
“Alec Baldwin’s conduct and his lack of gun safety inside that church on that day is something that he’s going to have to answer for,” prosecutor Kari Morrissey said in her closing arguments against Gutierrez-Reed. “Not with you and not today. That’ll be with another jury, on another day.”
Morrissey and co-counsel Jason Lewis presented the case against Baldwin to a grand jury in January and secured an indictment on the single felony count that gives them two pathways to prosecution. A recent analysis of the gun gave them the opportunity to reboot the case after an initial involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin was dismissed.
That analysis by Forensic Science Services in Arizona concluded “the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”
The author of an earlier FBI report on the gun testified at the Gutierrez-Reed trial that the gun arrived with all safety features in working order, and that only way the revolver would fire with the hammer full retracted was to strike it with a mallet and break it.
Defense attorneys for Baldwin have shown no sign of compromise with special prosecutors appointed by Santa Fe-area District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, who is running for reelection and confronting a Democratic primary challenge by a former DA in June.
A February fundraising message from Carmack-Altwies vowed justice for Hutchins and her family “no matter who else is involved,” without naming Baldwin.
“No one avoids culpability due to fame, wealth, or connections in my jurisdiction,” she wrote.
During Gutierrez-Reed’s trial last week, one witness for the prosecution stated the obvious as a prosecutor asked, “Is Mr. Baldwin on trial today?”
“It appears that he is a bit, yes,” said Ross Addiego, a crew member who witnessed the fatal shooting at close range and has sued Baldwin in civil court.
The lawsuit is one in a series of legal actions, including wrongful death claims filed by members of Hutchins’ family, centered on accusations that the defendants were lax with safety standards. Baldwin and other defendants have disputed those allegations.
The filming of “Rust” moved to Montana after the shooting in New Mexico, under an agreement with Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, that made him an executive producer.
’Rust’ armorer’s trial gives Alec Baldwin’s team window into how his trial could unfold
The trial of an armorer in connection with a fatal shooting on set of "Rust" has given Alec Baldwin a window into how his own could unfold
Judge schedules sentencing for armourer in fatal shooting during Baldwin film
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee
Published Mar 13, 2024 • 1 minute read
A jury convicted Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter Wednesday, March 6, 2024, in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal on the set of the western movie Rust.
SANTA FE, N.M. — A judge has scheduled sentencing next month for a movie set armourer convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the western film Rust, court records indicated Wednesday.
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury last week in the shooting on the outskirts of Santa Fe, N.M., during a rehearsal in October 2021. Baldwin was indicted by a grand jury in January and has pleaded not guilty to another involuntary manslaughter charge with a trial set for July.
Santa Fe-based Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer set aside two hours for Gutierrez-Reed’s sentencing hearing on the morning of April 15. Marlowe Sommer also is assigned to oversee Baldwin’s trial.
Involuntary manslaughter carries a felony sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Gutierrez-Reed is being held pending sentencing at the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility.
Jury convicts movie armorer of involuntary manslaughter in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin
Defence attorney Jason Bowles indicated last week that Gutierrez-Reed plans to appeal the conviction.
Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer, but not the trigger.
Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed at a two-week trial for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of Rust, where it was expressly prohibited. They also said she failed to follow basic gun-safety protocols.
Rust assistant director and safety co-ordinator Dave Halls last year pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm and completed a sentence of six months unsupervised probation.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee
Published Mar 13, 2024 • 1 minute read
A jury convicted Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter Wednesday, March 6, 2024, in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal on the set of the western movie Rust.
SANTA FE, N.M. — A judge has scheduled sentencing next month for a movie set armourer convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the western film Rust, court records indicated Wednesday.
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury last week in the shooting on the outskirts of Santa Fe, N.M., during a rehearsal in October 2021. Baldwin was indicted by a grand jury in January and has pleaded not guilty to another involuntary manslaughter charge with a trial set for July.
Santa Fe-based Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer set aside two hours for Gutierrez-Reed’s sentencing hearing on the morning of April 15. Marlowe Sommer also is assigned to oversee Baldwin’s trial.
Involuntary manslaughter carries a felony sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Gutierrez-Reed is being held pending sentencing at the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility.
Jury convicts movie armorer of involuntary manslaughter in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin
Defence attorney Jason Bowles indicated last week that Gutierrez-Reed plans to appeal the conviction.
Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer, but not the trigger.
Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed at a two-week trial for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of Rust, where it was expressly prohibited. They also said she failed to follow basic gun-safety protocols.
Rust assistant director and safety co-ordinator Dave Halls last year pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm and completed a sentence of six months unsupervised probation.
Judge schedules sentencing for armourer in fatal shooting during Baldwin film
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury last week in the shooting on the outskirts of Santa Fe, N.M., during a rehearsal in 2021.
Baldwin seeks dismissal of indictment in fatal shooting of cinematographer
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee
Published Mar 14, 2024 • 2 minute read
SANTA FE, N.M. — Defence attorneys for Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Thursday to dismiss a grand jury indictment against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the western movie Rust.
The indictment in January charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021, at a movie ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to the charge. His attorneys in a new court filing accused prosecutors of “unfairly stacking the deck” against Baldwin in grand jury proceedings that diverted attention away from exculpatory evidence and witnesses.
That prevented the jury from asserting their obligation to hear testimony from director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the shooting while standing near Hutchins, as well as assistant director and safety co-ordinator Dave Halls and props master Sarah Zachry.
“The grand jury did not receive the favourable or exculpatory testimony and documents that the state had an obligation to present,” said the court motion signed by defence attorney Luke Nikas. “Nor was the grand jury told it had a right to review and the obligation to request this information.”
The motion also asserts that the grand jury received inaccurate and one-sided testimony about the revolver involved in the fatal shooting.
Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury last week in the shooting and is being held without bond pending an April sentencing hearing. Involuntary manslaughter carries a felony sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and injuring Souza. Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer, but not the trigger.
Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed at a two-week trial for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of Rust where it was expressly prohibited. They also said she failed to follow basic gun-safety protocols.
Halls last year pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm and completed a sentence of six months of unsupervised probation.
Baldwin is scheduled for trial in July.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Morgan Lee
Published Mar 14, 2024 • 2 minute read
SANTA FE, N.M. — Defence attorneys for Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Thursday to dismiss a grand jury indictment against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the western movie Rust.
The indictment in January charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021, at a movie ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to the charge. His attorneys in a new court filing accused prosecutors of “unfairly stacking the deck” against Baldwin in grand jury proceedings that diverted attention away from exculpatory evidence and witnesses.
That prevented the jury from asserting their obligation to hear testimony from director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the shooting while standing near Hutchins, as well as assistant director and safety co-ordinator Dave Halls and props master Sarah Zachry.
“The grand jury did not receive the favourable or exculpatory testimony and documents that the state had an obligation to present,” said the court motion signed by defence attorney Luke Nikas. “Nor was the grand jury told it had a right to review and the obligation to request this information.”
The motion also asserts that the grand jury received inaccurate and one-sided testimony about the revolver involved in the fatal shooting.
Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury last week in the shooting and is being held without bond pending an April sentencing hearing. Involuntary manslaughter carries a felony sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and injuring Souza. Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer, but not the trigger.
Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed at a two-week trial for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of Rust where it was expressly prohibited. They also said she failed to follow basic gun-safety protocols.
Halls last year pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm and completed a sentence of six months of unsupervised probation.
Baldwin is scheduled for trial in July.
Baldwin seeks dismissal of indictment in fatal shooting of cinematographer
Defence attorneys for Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Thursday to dismiss a grand jury indictment against the actor.
New trial denied for ’Rust’ armourer convicted in fatal shooting of cinematographer by Alec Baldwin
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Susan Montoya Bryan
Published Mar 29, 2024 • 2 minute read
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico judge on Friday rejected an effort by a movie set armourer to challenge her conviction of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust.”
After hearing brief arguments during a virtual hearing, Santa Fe-based Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she would be staying the course and that armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed would remain in custody pending her sentencing in April.
Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury in early March in the October 2021 shooting on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico, during a rehearsal. Baldwin was indicted by a grand jury in January and has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge, with trial set for July.
Defence attorneys for Gutierrez-Reed had filed a request earlier this month for a new trial and urged the judge to release their client from jail as deliberations proceeded. Attorney Jason Bowles told the judge Friday that his client had no violations during the trial, takes care of her father and has been in counseling.
“She hasn’t done anything wrong. She’s not a danger or a flight risk,” he said.
The judge responded: “Keep in mind there was a death that the jury determined was caused by her so I’m not releasing her.”
Involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Gutierrez-Reed is being held at the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility.
In court filings, defence attorneys asserted that the jury instructions in the case could confuse jurors and lead to a nonunanimous verdict. Similar objections to the jury instructions were rejected at trial, but Bowles on Friday brought up a new ruling from the New Mexico Supreme Court in an unrelated case that addressed situations when jurors have two or more specific acts to consider when deliberating a charge.
In the case of Gutierrez-Reed, he explained that one act was loading a live round in the gun used on set and the other was the accusation that she did not perform an adequate safety check of the firearm. He was unsuccessful in his argument that jurors should have had separate instructions for each act.
Gutierrez-Reed could be sentenced as soon as April 15 under current scheduling orders.
Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer, but not the trigger. Testimony by an independent gun expert during Gutierrez-Reed’s trial cast doubt on Baldwin’s account that his gun went off without pulling the trigger.
Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust” where it was expressly prohibited. They also said she failed to follow basic gun safety protocols.
“Rust” assistant director and safety coordinator Dave Halls last year pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm and completed a sentence of six months unsupervised probation.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Susan Montoya Bryan
Published Mar 29, 2024 • 2 minute read
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico judge on Friday rejected an effort by a movie set armourer to challenge her conviction of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust.”
After hearing brief arguments during a virtual hearing, Santa Fe-based Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she would be staying the course and that armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed would remain in custody pending her sentencing in April.
Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury in early March in the October 2021 shooting on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico, during a rehearsal. Baldwin was indicted by a grand jury in January and has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge, with trial set for July.
Defence attorneys for Gutierrez-Reed had filed a request earlier this month for a new trial and urged the judge to release their client from jail as deliberations proceeded. Attorney Jason Bowles told the judge Friday that his client had no violations during the trial, takes care of her father and has been in counseling.
“She hasn’t done anything wrong. She’s not a danger or a flight risk,” he said.
The judge responded: “Keep in mind there was a death that the jury determined was caused by her so I’m not releasing her.”
Involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Gutierrez-Reed is being held at the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility.
In court filings, defence attorneys asserted that the jury instructions in the case could confuse jurors and lead to a nonunanimous verdict. Similar objections to the jury instructions were rejected at trial, but Bowles on Friday brought up a new ruling from the New Mexico Supreme Court in an unrelated case that addressed situations when jurors have two or more specific acts to consider when deliberating a charge.
In the case of Gutierrez-Reed, he explained that one act was loading a live round in the gun used on set and the other was the accusation that she did not perform an adequate safety check of the firearm. He was unsuccessful in his argument that jurors should have had separate instructions for each act.
Gutierrez-Reed could be sentenced as soon as April 15 under current scheduling orders.
Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer, but not the trigger. Testimony by an independent gun expert during Gutierrez-Reed’s trial cast doubt on Baldwin’s account that his gun went off without pulling the trigger.
Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust” where it was expressly prohibited. They also said she failed to follow basic gun safety protocols.
“Rust” assistant director and safety coordinator Dave Halls last year pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm and completed a sentence of six months unsupervised probation.
New trial denied for ’Rust’ armourer convicted in fatal shooting of cinematographer by Alec Baldwin
A New Mexico judge on Friday rejected an effort by a movie set armourer to challenge her conviction of involuntary manslaughter.
Alec Baldwin had ‘no control’ over emotions on ‘Rust’ set, prosecutors say
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Annabelle Timsit, The Washington Post
Published Apr 09, 2024 • 4 minute read
Alec Baldwin
In a court filing released April 8, prosecutor Kari Morrissey sketched the outlines of what the jury might hear, including how Baldwin's allegedly unpredictable behavior contributed to the tragedy, and how he kept changing his story in its aftermath. Baldwin, 66, is set to go on trial in New Mexico in July for involuntary manslaughter, a charge he denies.
New Mexico prosecutors accused Alec Baldwin of contributing to making the set of Western film “Rust” unsafe by having “no control” over his emotions before he shot a cinematographer – and alleged that attempts by the actor and his legal team to get the state’s case against him dismissed were deceptive and manipulative.
Prosecutors said Baldwin, 66, has dodged responsibility since a prop gun discharged in his hand during an informal rehearsal on Oct. 21, 2021, killing Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
The accusations, laid out by special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis in a filing made public on Monday, suggest the prosecution intends to vigorously go after Baldwin, who was indicted by a grand jury in January on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. Baldwin’s trial is scheduled for July in Santa Fe, and he has pleaded not guilty.
Morrissey and Lewis accused Baldwin’s lawyers of making “false or misleading” statements in pushing to get the indictment dismissed.
The prosecutors had previously dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin last year “to conduct further investigation,” but had warned charges could be refiled. In the most recent filing, they cast their decision to temporarily drop the charges as a show of good faith as their investigation continued.
On Monday, Morrissey wrote that she and Lewis have experienced “contrived and unwarranted personal attacks” from Baldwin, as well as “near countless lies and manipulation” from the actor’s legal team “for more than one year.”
Attorneys representing Baldwin did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Tuesday, but have previously called the charges against him “misguided,” and argued that Baldwin was not at fault because he was told the gun was not loaded with live bullets.
In their most recent filing, prosecutors, citing witness testimony, painted a picture in which Baldwin’s alleged “relentless rushing of the crew” and erratic behavior on set helped turn it into an unsafe environment where people cut corners with devastating consequences.
The actor “was frequently screaming and cursing at himself, at crew members or at no one and not for any particular reason,” Morrissey alleged.
The filing marks the latest chapter in the long-running legal saga around Hutchins’s death. “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last month and is expected to be sentenced on April 15, after her attempts to challenge her conviction were unsuccessful.
Prosecutors have alleged that Gutierrez-Reed brought live ammunition on set and inadvertently loaded it into the .45 Long Colt revolver Baldwin then used during rehearsal, killing Hutchins. Baldwin has claimed he never pulled the trigger.
Morrissey and Lewis accused Gutierrez-Reed of negligence, but blamed Baldwin for not noticing that the 24-year-old “was not up to the job.”
In petitioning the court last month to dismiss the indictment against Baldwin, attorneys for the actor, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, claimed that prosecutors “publicly dragged Baldwin through the cesspool created by their improprieties – without any regard for the fact that serious criminal charges have been hanging over his head for two and a half years.”
“This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme,” they wrote.
The prosecutors’ filing goes into extensive detail about the interactions between Baldwin, his legal team and the prosecution over the past year.
Morrissey wrote that, after she offered Baldwin “a very favorable plea agreement” in October, she found out from a reporter that Baldwin’s attorneys had shared the confidential terms of the plea and were mounting a campaign to deflect attention away from any future plea hearing. She said she then found out that Baldwin had commissioned a documentary about Hutchins and was “actively pressuring material witnesses in the case” to take part in it. “It was at this point that the plea offer was rescinded, and the case was scheduled for grand jury,” she wrote.
Morrissey also shed light on what led to the initial dismissal of the charges last April. She said Nikas argued that the hammer of the revolver Baldwin used on the day of the “Rust” shooting – which had undergone forensic testing by the FBI – could have been modified. As a result, Morrissey said she agreed to dismiss the case against Baldwin, to spare the actor from having to pay lawyers “to defend him at the preliminary hearing only to later have the case dismissed if the forensic testing indicated that the hammer of the gun had indeed been modified.”
But Morrissey accused Baldwin of feigning confusion about the terms under which the case was dismissed, and said the forensic testing eventually “concluded that the trigger of the gun had to be pulled for the gun to have discharged on Oct. 21, 2021,” and that “the alleged modification of the hammer was simply damage caused when the FBI struck the hammer with the mallet so many times that it finally damaged the hammer and the sear.”
Samantha Chery and Herb Scribner contributed to this report.
04-09-2024 09:43AM
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Annabelle Timsit, The Washington Post
Published Apr 09, 2024 • 4 minute read
Alec Baldwin
In a court filing released April 8, prosecutor Kari Morrissey sketched the outlines of what the jury might hear, including how Baldwin's allegedly unpredictable behavior contributed to the tragedy, and how he kept changing his story in its aftermath. Baldwin, 66, is set to go on trial in New Mexico in July for involuntary manslaughter, a charge he denies.
New Mexico prosecutors accused Alec Baldwin of contributing to making the set of Western film “Rust” unsafe by having “no control” over his emotions before he shot a cinematographer – and alleged that attempts by the actor and his legal team to get the state’s case against him dismissed were deceptive and manipulative.
Prosecutors said Baldwin, 66, has dodged responsibility since a prop gun discharged in his hand during an informal rehearsal on Oct. 21, 2021, killing Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
The accusations, laid out by special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis in a filing made public on Monday, suggest the prosecution intends to vigorously go after Baldwin, who was indicted by a grand jury in January on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. Baldwin’s trial is scheduled for July in Santa Fe, and he has pleaded not guilty.
Morrissey and Lewis accused Baldwin’s lawyers of making “false or misleading” statements in pushing to get the indictment dismissed.
The prosecutors had previously dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin last year “to conduct further investigation,” but had warned charges could be refiled. In the most recent filing, they cast their decision to temporarily drop the charges as a show of good faith as their investigation continued.
On Monday, Morrissey wrote that she and Lewis have experienced “contrived and unwarranted personal attacks” from Baldwin, as well as “near countless lies and manipulation” from the actor’s legal team “for more than one year.”
Attorneys representing Baldwin did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Tuesday, but have previously called the charges against him “misguided,” and argued that Baldwin was not at fault because he was told the gun was not loaded with live bullets.
In their most recent filing, prosecutors, citing witness testimony, painted a picture in which Baldwin’s alleged “relentless rushing of the crew” and erratic behavior on set helped turn it into an unsafe environment where people cut corners with devastating consequences.
The actor “was frequently screaming and cursing at himself, at crew members or at no one and not for any particular reason,” Morrissey alleged.
The filing marks the latest chapter in the long-running legal saga around Hutchins’s death. “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last month and is expected to be sentenced on April 15, after her attempts to challenge her conviction were unsuccessful.
Prosecutors have alleged that Gutierrez-Reed brought live ammunition on set and inadvertently loaded it into the .45 Long Colt revolver Baldwin then used during rehearsal, killing Hutchins. Baldwin has claimed he never pulled the trigger.
Morrissey and Lewis accused Gutierrez-Reed of negligence, but blamed Baldwin for not noticing that the 24-year-old “was not up to the job.”
In petitioning the court last month to dismiss the indictment against Baldwin, attorneys for the actor, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, claimed that prosecutors “publicly dragged Baldwin through the cesspool created by their improprieties – without any regard for the fact that serious criminal charges have been hanging over his head for two and a half years.”
“This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme,” they wrote.
The prosecutors’ filing goes into extensive detail about the interactions between Baldwin, his legal team and the prosecution over the past year.
Morrissey wrote that, after she offered Baldwin “a very favorable plea agreement” in October, she found out from a reporter that Baldwin’s attorneys had shared the confidential terms of the plea and were mounting a campaign to deflect attention away from any future plea hearing. She said she then found out that Baldwin had commissioned a documentary about Hutchins and was “actively pressuring material witnesses in the case” to take part in it. “It was at this point that the plea offer was rescinded, and the case was scheduled for grand jury,” she wrote.
Morrissey also shed light on what led to the initial dismissal of the charges last April. She said Nikas argued that the hammer of the revolver Baldwin used on the day of the “Rust” shooting – which had undergone forensic testing by the FBI – could have been modified. As a result, Morrissey said she agreed to dismiss the case against Baldwin, to spare the actor from having to pay lawyers “to defend him at the preliminary hearing only to later have the case dismissed if the forensic testing indicated that the hammer of the gun had indeed been modified.”
But Morrissey accused Baldwin of feigning confusion about the terms under which the case was dismissed, and said the forensic testing eventually “concluded that the trigger of the gun had to be pulled for the gun to have discharged on Oct. 21, 2021,” and that “the alleged modification of the hammer was simply damage caused when the FBI struck the hammer with the mallet so many times that it finally damaged the hammer and the sear.”
Samantha Chery and Herb Scribner contributed to this report.
04-09-2024 09:43AM
Alec Baldwin had ‘no control’ over emotions on ‘Rust’ set, prosecutors say
The prosecutors had previously dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin last year "to conduct further investigation."
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the “Rust” armorer found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for her role in the fatal shooting of the film’s cinematographer, was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday by a New Mexico district court judge.
A jury had convicted Gutierrez-Reed in March in the 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins — the first trial verdict connected to the incident. She has spent more than a month in a county jail awaiting sentencing, according to the Associated Press.
The sentence was issued by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. Gutierrez-Reed faced a potential 18 months in state prison. Prosecutors had argued in court filings for her to receive the full sentence due to her “recklessness” and “complete and total failure to accept responsibility for her actions,” as seen through recorded jail phone conversations.
A jury had convicted Gutierrez-Reed in March in the 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins — the first trial verdict connected to the incident. She has spent more than a month in a county jail awaiting sentencing, according to the Associated Press.
The sentence was issued by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. Gutierrez-Reed faced a potential 18 months in state prison. Prosecutors had argued in court filings for her to receive the full sentence due to her “recklessness” and “complete and total failure to accept responsibility for her actions,” as seen through recorded jail phone conversations.
Sounds like she won't be home for Xmas and for sure she'll never be welcome on any movie set in creation-ever.
I'm sure they'll teach her a useful trade in the joint. Maybe she can be a range safety officer.