NM v. Hannah Gutierrez: Baldwin Movie Shooting Trial
SANTA FE, N.M. (Court TV) — A trial is underway in New Mexico for the embattled armorer in charge of weapons at the “Rust” movie set, where Alec Baldwin fatally shot one person and injured another.
Hannah Gutierrez, now 26, is facing involuntary manslaughter and tampering charges for inadvertently loading a fully functioning .45 caliber revolver with dummy rounds and at least one live round, then providing the gun to Baldwin during a rehearsal on October 21, 2021.
Baldwin, the lead actor and producer of “Rust,” was pointing the gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the fatal shot was fired. Director Joel Souza was also injured in the accident. Baldwin claims he pulled back the hammer of the gun but did not pull the trigger.
Six live rounds were ultimately discovered, some in a box of supposed dummy ammunition brought on set by Gutierrez, in the gun belt worn by actor Jensen Ackles and the bandolier worn by Baldwin.
Hannah Gutierrez walks out of court during a break in the the first day of testimony in the trial against her in First District Court, in Santa Fe, N.M., Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Eddie Moore/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool)
Prosecutors plan to use cell phone data, witness testimony and Gutierrez’s police interview to show how the defendant’s illegal drug and alcohol use contributed to her negligence and recklessness while working on the film set. However, no drug or sobriety tests were conducted in the immediate aftermath of the fatal shooting. A New Mexico district court judge dismissed a request from prosecutors to test her after the fact, calling it “an ambush” against her defense lawyers.
From the beginning, the defense has said Gutierrez is merely a “scapegoat” and someone to blame for a tragic accident. Defense Attorney Jason Bowles has accused prosecutors of assassinating Gutierrez’s character in the media through “rumors and improper comments on her guilt.”
“Rust” safety coordinator and assistant director David Halls has pleaded no contest to a charge of unsafe handling of a firearm and received a suspended sentence of six months probation.
Actor Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
Jury selection was held Feb. 21 in a Sante Fe courtroom. Gutierrez, who had waved her right to a courtroom preliminary review of evidence charges, faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. A panel of 12 jurors and four alternates was selected.
Court TV is livestreaming the trial of Hannah Gutierrez.
DAILY TRIAL UPDATES
DAY 6 – 2/29/24
- Bryan Carpenter, an expert movie armorer, walks the jury through a series of behind the scenes clips and movie takes that capture what Prosecutors say were examples of the defendant’s failure to follow protocols in the safe handling of firearms on the set of Rust.
- In one take Alec Baldwin is filmed firing revolvers and at the end of the take is barking orders at the crew to rush to reload and do another take. Armorer says his behavior jeopardizes the safety of people on the set.
- Two of Rust’s producers testify they have no recollection of a conversation with Hannah in which she asked for more armorer days to train Alec Baldwin
- Codefendant and First Assistant Director David Halls gives emotional testimony about going to Halyna Hutchins after the gun discharged and in what may have been her last words, told him “I can’t feel my legs.”
- Prop master Sarah Zachary said she helped load and unload the firearms used on Rust – got 10 minutes of training.
- WATCH: Sarah Zachry, ‘Rust’ Prop Master, Takes the Stand
- Was responsible for the accidental discharge on set.
- Denied she planted evidence but admitted she threw away dummy rounds right after the shooting.
- WATCH: Baldwin Movie Shooting Trial: Day 6 Recap
- READ MORE: AD says armorer Gutierrez handed gun to Baldwin before fatal shooting
DAY 5 – 2/28/24
- Prosecutors played Hannah Gutierrez’ Nov 9th interview with police (2nd interview).
- Gutierrez appears to point the finger at Sarah Zachry (master props) and Seth Kenney who supplied the ammunition for Rust.
- Gutierrez suggests they protected each other after Sarah set off an accidental discharge on the set.
- WATCH: Gutierrez Tells Investigators She’s ‘Not Sure’ Who Handled the Gun
- WATCH: State: Gutierrez Insinuated Sarah Zachry Planted Box of Ammunition
- Police narrow the timeline from when Gutierrez loads the gun and passes it to Dave Halls who hands it to Alec Baldwin. There is no time for anyone else to handle the gun after she admits she cleaned and loaded the final round into Baldwin’s revolver before passing the gun off to Halls.
- Gutierrez says she shook the box of dummies and heard jiggling – prosecutor notes she did not check each round.
- Defense suggests the investigation was influenced by Seth Kenney Rust’s ammunition supplier, who steered investigators toward HG as having brought live rounds to the set.
- Defense also suggests that investigators treated Baldwin with deference immediately after the shooting and during their investigation.
- Gabrielle Pickle one of the producers on Rust said she expressed concern to Gutierrez that firearms were being left unattended on the set. Told her in email and in person.
- Denied that HG asked for more training days, she said she declined a request that HG made that had to do with training a minor who would not be handling any firearms.
- WATCH: ‘Rust’ Production Manager Testifies About Gun Oversight
- WATCH: Baldwin Movie Shooting Trial: Day 5 Recap
- READ MORE: ‘Rust’ production manager testifies about gun oversight
DAY 4 – 2/27/24
- Chief Medical Examiner rules Halyna Hutchins death an accident – no evidence that there was an intent to cause death
- A Forensics Digital Examiner extracts text messages from Hannah Gutierrez’s phone in which she appears to be anxious to recover her ‘stuff’ – a bag of suspected cocaine that she unloaded after an interview with police.
- A second firearms expert testifies that the revolver Baldwin used was in good working order and could not have misfired accidentally even after it was broken in testing.
- The same firearms expert testified that the hammer had to be cocked and the trigger depressed or pulled for the gun to discharge.
- Hannah Gutierrez is captured on police bodycam lamenting ‘she f’ her career’ after the incident.
- In police interviews Hannah admits she did not check the gun after lunch because it had been locked up during lunch and admits she should have checked it more.
- In a follow up police interview she described having to do double duty as prop assistant and having to train three actors at a time when she would rather have one on one training.
- She said Alec Baldwin was on the phone when she tried to train him on the use of the firearms.
- WATCH: Baldwin Movie Shooting Trial: Day 4 Recap
- READ MORE: Firearms expert: Gun wouldn’t malfunction in fatal shooting by Baldwin
DAY 3 – 2/26/24
- Crew member Ross Addiego became emotional and wept while describing the scene they were filming when cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and the director wounded.
- Addiego testified that Hannah Gutierrez was not as conscious of safety protocols as other armorers that he worked with and that the firearms were left on the cart unattended.
- He was concerned about safety when two accidental discharges occurred within an hour of each other.
- Addiego’s testimony included clips from the scene Baldwin was rehearsing when his gun discharged.
- On cross Defense Attorney Jason Bowles called attention to the witness’ civil suit which does not name Hannah Gutierrez as a defendant but blames the shooting death on Alex Baldwin and Rust Productions.
- He agreed that despite a lot of complaining about the chaos on the set and a demanding and rushed schedule no one stood up to Alec Baldwin.
- WATCH: Baldwin Movie Shooting Trial: Day 3 Recap
DAY 2 – 2/23/24
- Rust Unit Production Manager testifies 6 members of the crew resigned the day before the shooting of Hutchins–citing safety concerns.
- A few days after the incident and before police executed a search warrant Hannah Gutierrez asked for access to the prop truck and retrieved a gun belt and cardboard boxes.
- The Defense suggests Rust’s supplier PDQ could have passed along the live rounds after .45 caliber Colt live ammunition was seized from the business. (The jury has not yet heard from the expert who is expected to testify those rounds were later tested and found not to be of the same chemical composition as those found on the Rust set.)
- Pictures of PDQ both inside and outside appear to show a business in disarray and disorganization.
- WATCH: Baldwin Movie Shooting Trial: Day 2 Recap
DAY 1 – 2/22/24
- Prosecutor Jason Lewis opened for the state with the theme that Hannah Gutierrez’ was negligent and failed to follow safety protocols and her recklessness contributed to the death of Halyna Hutchins and put others on the Rust set at risk
- Defense attorney Jason Bowles representing Hannah Gutierrez said Alec Baldwin broke the number one rule when handling a gun, never point it at someone. He said Baldwin was ultimately responsible for Hutchins’ death and that the state was making Gutierrez a ‘scapegoat.’
- Video recorded by an officer’s bodycam shown to the jury reflected a chaotic scene after Hutchins was shot with crew members hovering over her trying to administer first aid. (Audio to the media only)
- Bodycam footage from a supervising deputy captures Hannah Gutierrez appearing confused and stressed talking to a crew member about the ammo and bursting into tears when questioned by police.
- Investigators would recover a total of six live rounds on the set of Rust. In addition to the live round Baldwin fired, a second one was found in his gun belt, another in another actor’s gun belt, two more from the armorer’s messy and disorganized cart, and one photographed in Gutierrez’ lap.
- WATCH: Baldwin Movie Shooting Trial: Day 1 Recap
