Alec Baldwin - Halyna Hutchins death - Update - Rust armourer guilty of Halyna Hutchins' death

TV & Film TV & Film: In The News
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Gloria Allred, a lawyer representing Hutchins’ mother Olga Solovey, her father Anatolii Androsovych, and sister Svetlana Zemko, said on Friday her clients “remain hopeful” despite the prosecutor’s decision to drop criminal charges.

“Mr Baldwin may pretend that he is not responsible for pulling the trigger and ejecting a live bullet which ended Halyna’s life,” the family lawyer said in a statement.

“He can run to Montana and pretend that he is just an actor in a wild west movie but, in real life, he cannot escape from the fact that he had a major role in a tragedy which had real life consequences.”

Good … :+1:

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In this clip from ET Canada, the legal analyst says that charges will likely not be refiled against Alec Baldwin because of the errors the prosecutor made in the early part of the case. Charges against the armour will likely proceed.

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It seems that the facts of the matter have no significance - procedure and technicalities will be used by Baldwin’s “expensive” lawyers to ensure that he evades justice … :roll_eyes:

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15th June

A weapons supervisor on the set of Alec Baldwin’s film Rust was likely hungover on the day a cinematographer was fatally shot, prosecutors allege.

They accuse Hannah Gutierrez-Reed of drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana in the evenings during filming.

In response, her lawyer said prosecutors had mishandled the case and resorted to “character assassination”.

Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed after a gun Mr Baldwin had been rehearsing with went off on set in October 2021.

The actor was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the incident, but the charges were dropped in April. Filming resumed later that month.

Lawyers for the weapons supervisor have filed a motion seeking to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge brought against her. The prosecution’s new accusations were made in response to that motion.

They accuse Ms Gutierrez-Reed of having a history of reckless conduct and argue it would be in the public interest for her to “finally be held accountable”.

How the Alec Baldwin fatal film set shooting unfolded
“The case is so weak that they now have chosen to resort to character assassination claims about Hannah,” her lawyer, Jason Bowles, told the Associated Press.

“The prosecution has abandoned the idea of doing justice and getting to the actual truth,” he said.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed is due to attend a preliminary hearing in August, where it will be decided whether the charge against her will be taken further.

24th June

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has already been charged with involuntary manslaughter. She will face an additional charge in relation to “the transfer of narcotics to another person”, prosecutors said.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed will plead not guilty to the new charge, her lawyer said, calling it “retaliatory and vindictive”.

In court filings, prosecutors allege Ms Gutierrez-Reed transferred narcotics to another person on 21 October 2021, the day Ms Hutchins was killed, in order to “prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of herself”, Reuters news agency reported.

Last week, in separate court filings, prosecutors argued Ms Gutierrez-Reed had probably been hung over during the day of the shooting because she had drunk alcohol and smoked marijuana in the evenings while the film was being made.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer has said prosecutors have mishandled the case and resorted to “character assassination”. Her attorneys have filed a motion seeking to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge brought against her.

It comes as the lead investigator for the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office, who is set to step down from his post next month, criticises the sheriff’s office for the way they investigated the shooting and the conclusions they reached in their October 2022 report.

“The conduct of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office during and after their initial investigation is reprehensible and unprofessional,” Robert Shilling wrote in an email sent to colleagues on Tuesday. “Not I or 200 more proficient investigators than I can/could clean up the mess delivered to your office in October 2022.”

The criticism was made public by Ms Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer, who was accidentally sent it by prosecutors. The BBC has reached out to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office for comment. Mr Shilling told Reuters he declined to comment.

What shambles … :roll_eyes:

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Her plea comes ahead of a jury trial on 6 December looking into the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

The wheels of justice turn slowly … but will they grind at all?

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Hmmm?? young persons - cannabis smoking and alcohol consumption and checkin guns just don’t seen to go together well?

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A new report into the fatal shooting on the set of the movie Rust appears to cast doubt over star and producer Alec Baldwin’s accounts of events. Weapons experts have now said the trigger would have “had to be pulled”.

A new report, written by weapons experts Lucien Haag and Mike Haag, was given to prosecutors in New Mexico on Tuesday. According to the documents, prosecutors previously stated that they had information that there had been an alleged modification of the gun used by Mr Baldwin on the Rust set.

Lawyers for the movie’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, said the Haags’ report “does not indicate any modification to the gun” and “specifies that the trigger had to be pulled”.

“Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver,” said an excerpt of the weapons report included in the court documents. If the hammer had not been fully retracted to the rear, and were to slip from the handler’s thumb without the trigger depressed, the half cock or quarter cock notches in the hammer should have prevented the firing pin from reaching any cartridge in the firing chamber. It continued: “If these features were somehow bypassed, a conspicuously off-centre firing pin impression would result.”

It is not yet clear whether or not the findings of the new report will result in charges against Alec Baldwin being refiled.

Blimey … another twist in the tale … :open_mouth:

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New Mexico prosecutors plan to recharge Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter over a fatal on-set shooting in October 2021. “Additional facts” merit bringing the case again before a grand jury next month, they said.

The special prosecutors leading the case, Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, said in a statement sent to BBC News on Tuesday: “After extensive investigation over the past several months, additional facts have come to light. We believe the appropriate course of action is to permit a panel of New Mexico citizens to determine from here whether Mr Baldwin should be held over for criminal trial,” they added.

She added that prosecutors intend to begin presenting their case to a grand jury on 16 November.

:thinking:

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17 November 2023

Special prosecutors in New Mexico were scheduled to convene Thursday to reconsider charges against Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter. But the judge rescheduled during a teleconference hearing on Wednesday, a source familiar with the case told NBC.

In the first video, Baldwin can be seen lying on the ground holding a prop gun and heard saying ‘Halyna get out of’ before his voice trails off. He then continues by asking someone off camera to get on the ‘other side of the camera’ because ‘I don’t want to shoot towards you.’

In the second video Baldwin asks for a blanket to be placed next to him off-camera, where he can toss the gun aside, using it as a landing pad.

The third video shows Baldwin in character repeatedly firing a prop gun before he runs out of dummy rounds. ‘One more, one more, one more. Right away, right away, let’s reload,’ he says in an attempt to get the scene to keep moving. The clip ends on Baldwin then saying, ‘We should have had two guns and both of them reloading.’

In the fourth and fifth videos, Baldwin stops filming to check on the safety of a crew member who is walking backwards to film the scene. In one, he can be heard expressing concern about the steepness of a path and asks the crew member to use a safer part of the trail. In the other a cameraman falls and Baldwin is heard repeatedly asking, ‘Are you OK?’ before filming resumes.

The videos are among dozens that special prosecutors requested from Rust Movie Productions LLC and didn’t receive until October, a source claimed to the outlet.

Previously unreleased videos show Alec Baldwin firing prop gun with blanks and directing 'Rust' crew on safety (with video)

Rushed reloading and shooting with abandon … :scream_cat:

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why are any live bullets allowed on set at all? - simple question??

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AFAIK, they’re not … seemingly, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armourer (unqualified) was careless.

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A grand jury in New Mexico has charged Alec Baldwin with a fresh count of involuntary manslaughter over a fatal movie set shooting in October 2021. Local prosecutors have since shared “additional facts” from forensic tests on the weapon used in the shooting.

Special prosecutors in New Mexico said in October that they had commissioned forensic experts to reconstruct the weapon, after it had been broken during FBI testing. They said doing so revealed that the incident could only have taken place if the trigger had been pulled.

“Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver,” their report concluded.

Their one-count indictment was issued on Friday under two alternative legal theories - that Mr Baldwin was either negligent in his use of a firearm or that he acted with “total disregard or indifference for the safety of others”.

Prosecutors have indicated that he can only be convicted on one of these theories, not both. If convicted, he faces up to 18 months in prison.

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Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

The actor entered the not guilty plea in a court filing on Wednesday, a day before a scheduled virtual court appearance in a Santa Fe court, which will now not take place.

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Armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence.

Ms Hutchins died in October 2021 after a gun that actor Alec Baldwin was holding went off on the set of the movie.

The trial, which opened on Wednesday with jury selection, is the first of the fatal shooting on a ranch outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In their opening statement, prosecutors described Gutierrez-Reed as negligent in handling guns and ammunition. Special prosecutor Jason Lewis told the jury there were two key questions in the case.
“The first being, what are the events that happened on the set of Rust that led to the death of Halyna Hutchins? And the second question is, how did live ammunition end up on the set of the movie?
As to both questions, we believe that it was the negligent acts and failures of the defendant, Ms Gutierrez, that resulted in both the acts that contributed to Ms Hutchins’s death and to the live rounds being brought on to the set.”

Gutierrez-Reed’s defence lawyer Jason Bowles said his client was being used as a “scapegoat”. He said: “We’re here because of a tragedy, there’s no doubt, there was a tragic occurrence on that movie. But let me tell you something you already know: just because there was a tragedy, it does not mean that a crime was committed.”

In a separate case, Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He has denied pulling the trigger and said he was not responsible for the death of Ms Hutchins.

No doubt all of the careless, sloppy and negligent weapons handling tecniques will be be exposed throughout the trial.

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‘No-one could stand up’ to Alec Baldwin on Rust set according to crew member

Crew members have called out the “ludicrous” pace of work and how “no-one” was prepared to stand up to Alec Baldwin on the set of Rust, while a court heard about the fatal 2021 on-set shooting.

Lawyers defending Gutierrez-Reed stated the 24-year-old was at a unique disadvantage on set, being a part-time member of staff without a trade union membership on a set where few people challenged the lead actor on matters of safety and related budget.

One crew member stated there had already been two gun misfires on set before the fatal shooting and just one safety meeting took place as a result.

Testimony from the case veered towards the actor’s handling of the weapon that killed Hutchins, including a video of Baldwin twice practising a cross-draw manoeuvre shortly before the fatal shooting.

Front-line crew member Ross Addiego made an emotive statement in the court, recounting his first-person account of the fatal shooting.

“The first person I made eye contact with was Halyna, who was clearly injured. In fact, she was starting to go flush and I think holding her right side,” said Addiego, breaking into tears.

Mr Addiego described his anger at safety procedures, stating the storage cart for guns and ammunition was frequently unattended. He said before to the fatal shooting he lodged safety complaints with union representatives and the film’s top safety official.

Mr Addiego said: “At times we seemed to be working at ludicrous speeds. We always seemed to be rushed and under the gun.”

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In footage shown at the trial of the film’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, Mr Baldwin is also seen telling her to reload the gun more quickly.

The footage played on Thursday showed Mr Baldwin gesticulating with a pistol loaded with blanks and firing the gun within close proximity to camera operators, the AFP news agency reported.

He was also seen asking Ms Gutierrez-Reed why she didn’t have more weapons ready.

After the director called “cut”, he said: “One more! One more! One more! Right away! Let’s reload!”

He was also heard saying: “We should have two guns and both we’re reloading.”

Prosecutors have alleged that Mr Baldwin endangered safety by rushing production.

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The last person handling a firearm is always responsible for what comes out of it, period! If you don’t believe me look at hundreds of accidental shootings and the prosecution of the last person handling it. A movie set or any other workplace isn’t a magic place exempt from the law. Of course a jury will decide Alex’s fate but I’m quite sure what my decision would be if I was on the panel.

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The ammunition expert who supplied the Rust set only provided dummy rounds to the production, he testified in court as jurors were shown pictures of his chaotic office storage system.

Seth Kenney, an Albuquerque-based movie firearms and ammunition supplier, took the stand Monday at the trial of movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Kenney told the court that he cleaned and repackaged ammunition to Rust that was previously supplied to a production in Texas, handing off a box of 50 inert dummy rounds containing no gunpower to the film’s props supervisor on October 12, 2021.

But defense attorneys for Gutierrez-Reed, 26, showed the jury images of Kenney’s ‘cluttered’ business, a storage system without written inventories, and highlighted his ‘hazy’ recollection of his timeline for receiving live rounds for another production.

Seth Kenney, an Albuquerque-based movie firearms and ammunition supplier, took the stand Monday at the trial of movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on Monday

The jury was shown images of Kenney's 'cluttered' business, a storage system without written inventories

The jury was shown images of Kenney’s ‘cluttered’ business, a storage system without written inventories.

More careless, sloppy and negligent weapons handling.

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A movie set weapons handler who loaded a gun for actor Alec Baldwin before it fired and killed a cinematographer has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found not guilty of a second charge - tampering with evidence over the 2021 shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust.

She could now face up to 18 months in prison.

Mr Baldwin also faces a manslaughter trial over the fatality.

Ms Hutchins, 42, was killed after a gun Mr Baldwin used in a rehearsal fired a live round on the set of the Western in New Mexico.

Jurors deliberated for three hours before returning Wednesday’s verdict.

The conviction of Gutierrez-Reed is likely to be seen as good news for Mr Baldwin.

His attorneys can now argue that it was not foreseeable for their client that there was a live round on set because that was the responsibility of the armourer.

The patsy takes the fall.

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How do you know ?
Why would Alex Baldwin want to kill someone on set in front of many people ?
Why were there live rounds in a gin anyway ?m