‘Rust’ armorer faced tearful testimony and claims of ‘unprofessional’ handling of guns in first week of trial

The primary week of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s criminal trial was marked by a collection of eyewitness accounts from those that had been on set when “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot with a prop gun held by actor Alec Baldwin.

The case facilities on how a stay spherical of ammunition discovered its means onto the movie’s set and into the gun that Baldwin was holding on Oct. 21, 2021. Dave Halls, the movie’s first assistant director, who handed the gun to Baldwin that fired a stay bullet that killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza, was among the many witnesses and specialists who took the stand this week at a courthouse in New Mexico. Baldwin has maintained he didn’t pull the gun’s set off.

Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on set on the time of the incident, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and proof tampering and faces three years in jail. She has pleaded not responsible.

Right here’s a have a look at the trial’s first week.

Halls took the stand on Thursday and informed jurors, “My thought was {that a} clean spherical had been loaded.” He started to cry as he recounted being one of many first to method Hutchins. “She stated, ‘I can’t really feel my legs.’”

Halls, who additionally served because the movie’s security coordinator, pleaded no contest to negligent use of a lethal weapon final 12 months and as a part of a plea deal was sentenced to 6 months of unsupervised probation. Halls’ testimony marks the primary time he spoke publicly about what occurred on the set.

“It’s vital to me that the reality be recognized, that Halyna’s husband, son, household know the reality of what occurred,” he stated when prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey requested him why he agreed to testify.

When Morrissey questioned Halls on Gutierrez-Reed’s on-set conduct with the weapons, he stated that he by no means witnessed Gutierrez-Reed deal with herself in an “improper” method.

However Halls acquired emotional when he mentioned the moments earlier than the deadly capturing. Halls stated he was the one who handed the gun to Baldwin through the rehearsal on set and declared the gun “chilly” — which means there have been no rounds of stay ammunition inside. Halls stated throughout his testimony that he ought to have checked the gun extra totally and admitted that he “did an improper verify of that firearm.”

Halls went on to say that he didn’t recall seeing Gutierrez-Reed spin your entire cylinder round to make sure all bullets had been dummy rounds. Whereas wiping away tears he stated, “I let a security verify cross.”

Sarah Zachry, the movie’s prop grasp and Gutierrez-Reed’s boss, stated from the witness stand Friday that she solely introduced one field of dummy rounds to the “Rust” set and didn’t know who introduced the stay rounds that authorities discovered on set following the incident.

Within the moments after the capturing, Zachry admitted that she took the stay rounds out of the gun and “threw them away in a state of shock and panic. It was a reactive resolution.” She stated she informed investigators about this one month after the capturing.

Zachry additionally spoke about how she was not glad with Gutierrez-Reed throughout manufacturing and talked with colleagues about wanting to fireplace her at one level. Protection legal professional Jason Bowles said in his opening statements that his consumer served as each armorer and a props assistant, which distracted her from having the ability to sufficiently oversee the weapons throughout filming.

Joel Souza, the director on the set, stated that after the capturing “nothing made sense.” Souza, who was shot by the identical bullet that killed Hutchins, stated he remembered trying up at Gutierrez-Reed and listening to her repeatedly say, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Joel.”

Souza described the sensation of being shot as if somebody had “taken a baseball bat to my shoulder.”

He stated he didn’t understand he had been injured by a stay spherical of ammunition, and when medical personnel knowledgeable him of that on the hospital, “It couldn’t compute for me,” Souza stated.

Throughout cross-examination by Gutierrez-Reed’s legal professional, Souza stated he recalled Halls declaring the gun was “chilly” on set.

Throughout opening statements, particular prosecutor Jason Lewis referred to as Gutierrez-Reed’s habits on the “Rust” set “sloppy” and “unprofessional.”

“We consider that it was the negligent acts and failures of the defendant … that contributed to Ms. Hutchins’ loss of life,” Lewis stated.

There was testimony from these on set who stated Gutierrez-Reed did not create a secure movie set. Ross Addiego, a dolly grip, described to the jury a day on the New Mexico set when there have been two unintended discharges in the middle of one hour. Addiego stated unintended firearm discharges are “not frequent.”

At one level, Addiego stated that Guiterrez-Reed was not “as severe or skilled as I’m accustomed to.” He stated that weapons and ammunition that ought to be “beneath lock and keys” could be left unattended on a prop cart. He stated he voiced his issues concerning the set’s security with Halls and that “Mr. Halls ignored me and walked away.”

John Ziello, who labored as a grip on set, informed Morrissey that he got here throughout an unmanned prop cart on set and that “it appeared flawed. Anybody might have performed something to these weapons.” Ziello stated he by no means reported his issues.

Throughout a number of days of the trial, numerous items of bodycam footage from the day of the lethal capturing had been performed for the jury. In a single clip, Gutierrez-Reed was heard within the aftermath of the capturing whereas sitting behind a police automobile saying, “I simply need to get the f— out of right here and by no means present my face on this business once more.”

She additionally stated, “I’m a f—ing failure.”

Shortly after the incident, Gutierrez-Reed was taken in for questioning. In footage from the interrogation, she might be heard telling the sheriff investigator, “It’s my job to verify the barrel” of the gun. She can also be heard referencing Brandon Lee, an actor who was killed on the 1993 movie set of “The Crow.” He died after a firearm malfunctioned whereas filming a scene on set.

As she continues to be questioned by the sheriff investigator, Gutierrez-Reed is heard within the footage saying that though she remembered shaking the entire rounds to ensure they had been dummy rounds, “I want I might have checked [the gun] extra.”

In a second spherical of questioning from the day of the capturing, performed for jurors, Gutierrez-Reed admits that she didn’t have a lot official coaching and that the majority of her job alternatives had come immediately from her stepfather, Thell Reed, a well-known Hollywood armorer. Gutierrez-Reed additionally informed the sheriff investigator that “Rust” was solely her second job within the movie business.

Lucien “Luke” Haag, a forensic science providers professional, informed jurors Tuesday that he examined the firearm that Baldwin was holding through the rehearsal. He testified that he had reviewed the FBI’s ballistics reports on the revolver and in addition examined the gun himself. Haag decided that the firearm was in “correct working order” and that it was “not modified” in any means. He informed prosecutors that Baldwin would have needed to have pulled the set off for it to fireplace.

It’s unclear if Gutierrez-Reed will take the stand in her personal protection through the trial. When requested by NBC Information, her legal professional wouldn’t affirm.

The trial will resume Monday.