Rust Gunsmith’s Trial Offers Preview of Alec Baldwin’s Trial

(Santa Fe) The trial and conviction of a movie gunsmith in connection with a fatal shooting on the set of the western Rust have given Alec Baldwin and his legal team an unusual window into how his own trial will unfold.

A New Mexico jury deliberated less than three hours Wednesday before convicting gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. She was quickly detained pending sentencing and faces up to 18 months in prison.

Baldwin was prominent in testimony and closing arguments over two weeks, which underscored his authority as co-producer and lead actor of Rust. The prosecution and defense in Gutierrez-Reed’s trial dissected video footage of Baldwin before the tragedy for clues about flaws in gun 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 maintained that he removed the hammer from the gun, but not the trigger, and that the gun fired, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

Watching Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s trial proceed is a boon for Baldwin and his legal team, according to Emily D. Baker, a legal analyst and former Los Angeles deputy district attorney who was not involved in the case but , but followed her closely.

“They are in an incredible position: They can watch this prosecutor in action, see how this judge works and know exactly what these experts are going to say and how they will present themselves to the jury,” explained Ms.^me Baker Wednesday.

A prosecution weapons expert in the Gutierrez-Reed case gave strong testimony, Baker said. But the expert agreed with what Baldwin’s team had been saying all along: that it wasn’t her job to check the gun, she added.

Expert witness and movie firearms consultant Bryan Carpenter said footage showed Baldwin firing blanks at a camera in a prohibited area at close range, flouting safety protocols as he ordered crew members to quickly reload his revolver and that he waved a weapon like a pointing stick after a scene ended. Another video captures the sound of Baldwin firing a gun after a director shouts “Cut!” »

Investigators have found no video recording of the tragedy, which took place during a rehearsal in a makeshift church on Oct. 21, 2021, on a film set outside Santa Fe. But the trial of Gutierrez-Reed included undisclosed eyewitness testimony.

Among those witnesses was Souza, who felt the shock of a bullet impact as he walked toward the camera monitor — but he never saw the gun that shot him.

A Dolly camera operator and assistant director Dave Halls also gave visceral accounts of the revolver being fired and its aftermath. Screenwriter Mamie Mitchell testified that the script did not call for Baldwin to point the gun.

“Alec Baldwin’s conduct and his lack of gun safety inside that church that day are things he will have to answer for,” prosecutor Kari Morrissey said in closing arguments against Gutierrez-Reed.

“Not with you and not today.” It will be with another jury, another day. »

Morrissey and co-counsel Jason Lewis presented the case against Baldwin to a grand jury in January and obtained an indictment on the charge alone, giving them two avenues of prosecution. A recent analysis of the weapon gave them an opportunity to revive the case after an initial manslaughter charge against Baldwin was dismissed.