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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Courtroom testimony within the deadly taking pictures of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin offered new particulars Thursday that battle with different, earlier accounts a few last security test on a revolver and precisely who handed it to the actor throughout rehearsal for the Western film “Rust.”
Assistant director David Halls, the security coordinator on set, informed jurors that weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who’s on trial on prices of manslaughter and proof tampering, twice handed the revolver to Baldwin. It was first emptied of bullets, Halls testified, after which loaded once more with a number of dummy rounds and a dwell spherical.
Baldwin was pointing the weapon at Hutchins when it went off on the film set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 20, 2021, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on “Rust,” was individually indicted by a grand jury final month; his trial is scheduled for July.
“I didn’t see Ms. Gutierrez take the gun from Mr. Baldwin,” Halls stated throughout questioning by the prosecution, “however she appeared again on my left-hand facet and she or he stated that she had put dummy rounds into the revolver.”
The testimony of Halls, who pleaded no contest final 12 months to negligent use of a firearm and accomplished six months of unsupervised parole, could weigh considerably as prosecutors reconstruct the chain of occasions and custody of ammunition that led to the taking pictures.
He described a rudimentary security test through which Gutierrez-Reed opened a latch on the revolver and he may see three or 4 dummy rounds inside that he acknowledged.
“She took just a few steps to Mr. Baldwin and gave … Baldwin the gun,” Halls testified.
Gutierrez-Reed hasn’t testified however informed investigators within the aftermath of the taking pictures that she left the loaded gun within the arms of Halls and walked out of a makeshift church on the set beforehand. She has pleaded not responsible.
Baldwin, who has pleaded not guilty to a cost of involuntary manslaughter in his case, initially informed investigators that Gutierrez-Reed handed him the gun however later stated it was Halls. The actor has said he pulled again the hammer however not the set off.
Halls acknowledged on the witnesses stand that he “was negligent in checking the gun correctly” as a result of he didn’t study all of the rounds inside.
His testimony included a visceral account of standing simply 3 toes (about 1 meter) from Hutchins when the one gunshot rang out. As Hutchins was on the bottom, he requested if she was alright.
“She stated, ‘I can’t really feel my legs,’” Halls stated.
Halls stated he left the church to make sure certain somebody referred to as 911. He added that he struggled to grasp how a dwell spherical may been fired, returning to the church to retrieve the gun from a pew earlier than taking it exterior to have it unloaded by a crew member and examine the ammunition.
“The concept that it was a dwell spherical of ammunition that went off … it wasn’t computing,” he stated.
Protection attorneys say issues on the set were beyond Gutierrez-Reed’s control and have pointed to shortcomings within the assortment of proof and interviews. Additionally they say the primary ammunition provider wasn’t correctly investigated.
Prosecutors say Gutierrez-Reed is guilty for bringing dwell ammunition on set and she or he handled fundamental security protocols for weapons as non-obligatory. They are saying six dwell rounds bear similar traits and don’t match ones seized from the film’s provider in Albuquerque.
In different courtroom testimony Thursday, a film props supervisor who helped handle weapons on set stated she threw away dummy ammunition rounds from two weapons within the instant aftermath of the taking pictures whereas in a state of shock and panic.
Sarah Zachry stated she emptied the ammunition right into a rubbish container from weapons that had been utilized by actors apart from Baldwin. She referred to as it a “reactive choice” and stated she finally informed legislation enforcement.
