Fatal shooting on the Rust plateau | Gunsmith may be forced to testify at Alec Baldwin’s trial

(Santa Fe) A New Mexico judge is expected to consider at a hearing Friday whether to compel a set armorer to testify in the manslaughter trial of actor Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting there almost three years, of a director of photography during the rehearsal of the western Rust.

Prosecutors are seeking a court order for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to testify with immunity from related charges. Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March of involuntary manslaughter for her role in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of a ranch movie.

Baldwin played an important role in the previous trial, which highlighted gun safety protocols and his authority as a co-producer and lead actor in Rust.

“The jury should hear all the information M^me Gutierrez has both exculpatory and inculpatory provisions regarding Mr. Baldwin,” special prosecutors Mari Morrissey and Erlinda Johnson said in court filings. “Lawyers for both sides should be allowed to fully cross-examine M^me Gutierrez. »

Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed oppose efforts to compel her to testify.

During a pretrial interview in May, Gutierrez-Reed exercised his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions. Her lawyers say compelling her to testify, even with immunity, would “virtually eliminate” the possibility of a fair appeal and possible retrial. She is also fighting another charge of carrying a gun into a Santa Fe bar weeks before the fatal shooting.

At Friday’s hearing, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer is also expected to consider two defense requests to throw out the trial by arguing that Baldwin had no reason to believe the gun could contain live ammunition and that it was heavily damaged during forensic testing by the FBI, before it could be examined for possible modifications that could exonerate the actor.

“The government took the most crucial piece of evidence in this case – the firearm – and destroyed it by repeatedly and needlessly hitting it with a mallet,” defense attorneys said in court filings. court. “Government agents knew the gun would not survive. »

During the fatal rehearsal on October 21, 2021, Baldwin pointed his gun at M^me Hutchins when she fired, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza, who survived. Baldwin said he removed the hammer from the gun, but did not pull the trigger.

Prosecutors plan to present evidence at trial that they say shows the gun “could not have fired without pulling the trigger” and was functioning properly before it was fired.

At Gutierrez-Reed’s trial, an FBI expert testified that the gun was fully functional and equipped with safety features when it arrived at an FBI lab. The expert claimed he had to hit the fully cocked gun with a mallet and break it so the gun could fire without pulling the trigger.

Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.

Judge Marlowe Sommer previously denied another motion to dismiss from Baldwin, finding that the grand jury was able to make an independent judgment on the indictment.

Special prosecutors last year dismissed a manslaughter charge against Baldwin, saying they were informed the gun may have been modified before the shooting and was malfunctioning. But they changed course after receiving a new analysis of the weapon and managed to obtain a grand jury indictment.