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Alec Baldwin’s “disregard” for gun safety is the focus of day two in the Hollywood star’s involuntary manslaughter trial at a Santa Fe courthouse – almost three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchin was killed in a tragic shooting while filming Western movie Rust.
During a rehearsal of a shooting scene in 2021, a prop gun Baldwin was holding went off, striking and killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
Baldwin is charged with involuntary manslaughter and faces 18 months in prison.
Just before court began Thursday, Attorney Jason Bowles confirmed that the film’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will testify on Friday. Gutierrez-Reed has already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
On Wednesday, jurors heard opening statements with prosecutors saying that the Hollywood star skipped safety checks and recklessly handled a revolver prior to the fatal incident.
Baldwin “played make believe with a real gun and violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety,” special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson said.
But defense attorney Alex Spiro said “these cardinal rules, they’re not cardinal rules on a movie set.”
As the first witnesses took the stand, prosecutors played the fraught 911 call in the aftermath of the shooting and graphic bodycam capturing the frantic efforts of first responders to save Hutchins. In the courtroom, Baldwin looked at the screen somberly as the video played.
Key points
- Armorer to testify in Alec Baldwin’s trial on Friday
- Alec Baldwin’s wife Hilaria and brother Stephen show support at trial
- Bodycam video and 911 call played in court
- How much jail time could Alec Baldwin face if convicted?
Court breaks for lunch
Andrea Cavallier11 July 2024 18:51 1720719974How long is Alec Baldwin’s trial supposed to last?
Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial at the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico — about 20 miles northeast of the ‘Rust’ movie set and the shooting of Halyna Hutchins — is projected to last nine days.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer insists that she’ll keep the lawyers in line and on schedule.
A jury was selected on Tuesday and opening statements were presented on Wednesday.
The state’s first four witnesses testified on Wednesday but on Thursday, cross-examination of crime scene tech Marissa Poppell has lasted most of the day.
The projected end is the following Friday.
Once the jurors get the case, however, they can deliberate as long as needed.
Defense questions why it took a week to search ‘Rust’ prop truck
Defense attorney Alex Spiro questioned crime scene tech Marissa Poppell why it took a week to search the prop truck on the set of Rust.
The truck is where the blank ammunition and dummy rounds were kept. Live ammo was found on the set, but none was found in the truck.
“You’re finding these live rounds all over the set, right? Sort of seemed to be a little bit of everywhere without much cohesion between where you’re finding them,” Spiro said.
“And they’re housed originally in the truck. And so you go a week later to the prop truck, which has all of the ammunition. And there’s not a single live round there, right? Why did law enforcement wait a week to go to the prop truck?”
Poppell responded: “The search warrant needed to be written.”
She added: “I’m not sure of why the time difference occurred exactly.”
He claimed that a search warrant for the church on set was written and filed the same day of the shooting. Poppell clarified the search warrant was done the next day.
Piece of paper collected from scene reads ‘Rust Colt cocked quietly now’
A piece of paper collected from the scene of the shooting at the church is displayed.
There appear to be directions on the paper and it reads: “Rust Colt cocked quietly now.”
Poppell says on the stand that she photographed the paper because she felt it was important because it mentioned a firearm.
Andrea Cavallier11 July 2024 17:45 1720715098Crime scene tech says live bullets were found among dummy bullets
Marissa Poppell testified on the stand that live bullets were found mixed with dummy bullets in a prop cart on the set of Rust.
In photos shown in court, the live rounds appear to have a silver dot at the bottom of the casing rather than a dull orange shade.
"Your working theory, as you evaluated the ammunition and looked at the similarity between the Starline nickel live and the Starline nickel dummies is that they could have been easily commingled there?” defense attorney Alex Spiro asked.
“Yes,” she responded.
“In other words, somebody could have mistaken one for the other, right?” he asked. She said: “Yes.”
Spiro also questioned Poppell about the damage caused by the state’s forensic analysis of the gun. The team previously tried to have the cases dismissed because they were unable to examine the gun.
”As to the firearm, I think where you left off yesterday is ultimately that firearm was destroyed in the testing there,” Spiro said.
”Not destroyed, but broken,” Poppell responded.
She later agreed that the gun could likely be fixed with replacement parts, but it could not be restored to the condition it was on the day of the shooting.
Andrea Cavallier11 July 2024 17:24 1720713774Alec Baldwin’s family back in court to support him
WATCH LIVE: Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ manslaughter trial continues on second day
Andrea Cavallier11 July 2024 16:21 1720710998Court resumes for second day of Baldwin trial
Court is back in session for the second day of Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter trial.
The prosecution’s fourth witness, crime scene technician Marissa Poppell, is back on the stand.
She is being cross-examined by the defense.
Andrea Cavallier11 July 2024 16:16 1720708699JUST IN: Armorer to testify in Alec Baldwin’s trial on Friday
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the ‘Rust’ movie set who was convicted, is expected to testify on Friday morning.
Gutierrez-Reed will be transported from prison to the courthouse on Friday morning, Attorney Jason Bowles confirmed to Court TV as court resumed on Thursday.
Andrea Cavallier11 July 2024 15:38 1720706413BACK TO COURT! 👀⚖️ Convicted #RustMovie armorer Hannah Gutierrez will be transported to the courthouse in Santa Fe where #AlecBaldwin is being tried on Friday! @CourtTV #RustTrial pic.twitter.com/SjT6duBay0
— Julie Grant (@JulieCourtTV) July 11, 2024
Alec Baldwin trial spectators flood New Mexico town
Spectators crowded outside a Santa Fe courthouse this week for the start of Alec Baldwin’s high-profile trial.
While many were local, several others had driven from out of town to witness the spectacle.
Janelle Rogers, an Albuquerque resident who once appeared on “Better Call Saul,” held signs with a friend that read: “Justice for Halyna” on one side and “Safety on set! Is a must! No excuses!!” on the other side.
She criticized the film industry, saying, “There is no safety on set.”
“Safety is a must on set regardless of who you are or where you are,” Rogers told the New York Post.
“Halyna Hutchins shouldn’t have died.”
“I blame a lot of people for her death. It’s multiple people. Just because you’re an actor or not a producer, doesn’t mean you’re exempt,” Rogers said, adding that she believes his wife being at the trial is a publicity stunt promoting their new reality show.
A Rio Rancher resident drove an hour from her home to attend the trial. She had followed the trial of armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed — who was sentenced to 18 months behind bars after she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March.
“I watched the Gutierrez case,” Jarrell said. “[I’m] super excited it was in my home state. [I] drove about an hour to be here.”
She is advocating for stricter gun safety laws and justice for Hutchins.
Andrea Cavallier11 July 2024 15:00 Newer1 / 6OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
