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Jurors within the involuntary manslaughter trial of Hannah Gutierrez noticed footage of the “Rust” armorer being interviewed by legislation enforcement hours after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the set of the Western.
“I want I might have checked it extra,” Gutierrez mentioned of the Colt .45 revolver whereas being questioned on the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Workplace in New Mexico on Oct. 21, 2021, in footage proven to jurors Tuesday on the fourth day of her trial.
Actor Alec Baldwin was working towards a cross-draw in a church on the set when the gun fired a reside spherical, placing Hutchins and director Joel Souza, who suffered a non-life-threatening damage.
Gutierrez instructed investigators she was “flabbergasted” by the capturing and that she had checked all six rounds within the prop gun, which was a completely functioning firearm.
“I do test the dummies,” she mentioned. “I test all of them. All of them confirmed that they weren’t scorching, I assume you would say.”
Gutierrez instructed investigators that she had spent the morning loading prop weapons with dummies. After lunch, she was exterior the church resulting from COVID-19 restrictions when she mentioned she heard one shot go off inside.
She mentioned she went inside and was “yelled” at, so ran out. She mentioned she checked the gun, and one spherical was lacking, however the “relaxation have been positive.”
“One of many dummies had one way or the other been discharged,” she instructed investigators within the footage.
One of many investigators confirmed Gutierrez a photograph a deputy had texted her from the hospital of the projectile faraway from Souza’s shoulder.
“They have been pondering it could possibly be an precise reside spherical at this level,” the investigator instructed Gutierrez.
“Does that appear like it could have been a reside spherical to you?” she requested the armorer.
“That appears like a clean one,” Gutierrez initially responded, earlier than later saying, “That may be a daily reside spherical, although.”
“That is what they have been pondering — it could possibly be a reside spherical,” the investigator mentioned.
“Holy f—,” Gutierrez responded.
Gutierrez contended that she had checked the six rounds within the firearm to see in the event that they rattled — indicating they have been dummy rounds.
“If it did not rattle, I would not have put it in,” she mentioned. “I checked all six of them for a rattle.”
Santa Fe Sheriff’s Workplace Cpl. Alexandra Hancock testified on the stand Tuesday that one of many dummy rounds within the firearm had a gap on the aspect to point it was a dummy.
“It will not have rattled, which is opposite to her assertion of, if it would not have had rattled, I would not put it in,” Hancock mentioned.
Hours earlier than the capturing, a number of members of the digicam division walked off the set in protest of poor working circumstances. When requested about that in the course of the interview, Gutierrez mentioned the set was “poisonous” however did not assume anybody was “that malicious.”
“I really feel like it is a actually f—ed-up accident,” she mentioned, the footage confirmed.
Requested the place the ammunition for the set got here from, Gutierrez instructed the investigator they bought bins of dummies from Seth Kenney, proprietor of PDQ Arm and Prop in Albuquerque.
Throughout a second interview with the sheriff’s workplace in November 2021, Gutierrez “disclosed” that she and one other provider additionally supplied ammunition for the set, Hancock testified.
In the course of the November interview, a part of which was proven to jurors on Tuesday earlier than breaking for the day, Gutierrez mentioned she introduced in “free dummies” she had from a previous movie set that had been in her automotive for 2 weeks.
Ammunition from PDQ didn’t match any of the reside ammunition discovered on the “Rust” set, Hancock testified.
Gutierrez, 26, has pleaded not responsible to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with proof prices. Prosecutors allege she handed off a small bag of cocaine after her interview with legislation enforcement following the capturing. The protection has argued there isn’t a proof that cocaine was within the bag and that she was charged with the offense “in an effort to trigger unfair prejudice” to the defendant in the course of the trial.
Prosecutors have claimed that the armorer didn’t all the time adhere to “important” security procedures on set and unwittingly introduced the reside bullets onto the set.
Protection legal professional Jason Bowles mentioned throughout opening statements final week that the manufacturing and state have made Gutierrez a “scapegoat” within the tragic capturing.
“Simply because there was a tragedy doesn’t imply {that a} crime was dedicated,” he mentioned.
He claimed that the manufacturing created a “chaotic scene” by giving Gutierrez props duties that took away from her job as lead armorer. He mentioned she wasn’t given ample time to coach the crew on the firearms, together with Baldwin, whom he argued was inappropriately dealing with the gun by pointing it on the crew, and has denied that she introduced the reside bullets on set.
Baldwin has additionally been charged with involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ demise. He has pleaded not responsible.
Earlier Tuesday, firearms knowledgeable Lucien Haag testified for the state that for the revolver to fireplace, the hammer would have wanted to be totally cocked and the set off pulled — matching testimony from FBI firearms knowledgeable Bryce Ziegler on Monday.
Baldwin has said he didn’t pull the set off on the gun.
His trial has been scheduled to begin in July.
“We look ahead to our day in courtroom,” Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, mentioned following his indictment in January.
