Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ trial live: judge says ‘trials are fluid’ as jury is released for day 3 in actor’s manslaughter case
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Alec Baldwin is back in court Friday for his involuntary manslaughter trial as the first week of testimony comes to a close.
The Hollywood actor is on trial in Santa Fe almost three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in a tragic shooting while filming Western movie Rust.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer was expected to testify today, but it has been delayed. She has already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
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.
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.”
In witness testimony, 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.
Judge dismisses jury for the weekend
The jury is being dismissed for the weekend.
“Trials are fluid,” Judge Marlowe Sommer tells them.
They will return on Monday at 10:30am ET.
Court is now taking a break.
Andrea Cavallier12 July 2024 17:19
Jury still not in courtroom
Court was expected to resume this morning in Alec Baldwin’s trial, but a motion’s hearing has delayed further testimony.
Attorneys and Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer are in the courtroom, along with Baldwin.
Andrea Cavallier12 July 2024 16:49
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will not testify today
According to reporters at the Alec Baldwin trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will not testify today.
Prosecution is running behind with their witnesses, which delays the trial schedule.
A motion hearing will be held this morning before court resumes with the lead detective in the case.
No Hannah Gutierrez-Reed today. This trial is running behind schedule. Motion this AM is regarding the bullets brought in to the sheriff’s office by the “Good Samaritan” after Hannah’s conviction. Prosecution says the Good Samaritan was a friend of Hannah’s father, legendary…
— Angenette Levy (@Angenette5) July 12, 2024
Andrea Cavallier12 July 2024 15:48
WATCH LIVE: Alec Baldwin trial resumes
Andrea Cavallier12 July 2024 15:43
Will Hannah Gutierrez-Reed testify?
Questions still remain about whether or not Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the Rust film set, will testify on Friday – or at all – during Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial.
She has been transported from prison to the courthouse in Santa Fe, but her attorney has said she will plead the Fifth.
There are reports that special prosecutor Kari Morrissey is now unsure whether she will call Gutierrez-Reed to testify.
Gutierrez-Reed has already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Andrea Cavallier12 July 2024 15:37
Special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Erlinda Johnson arrive for Baldwin trial
Special prosecutors Kari Morrissey, Erlinda Johnson and Jason Lewis have arrived at the Santa Fe courthouse on Friday for Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial.
Andrea Cavallier12 July 2024 15:08
Crowd gathers outside courthouse for Alec Baldwin’s trial
Andrea Cavallier12 July 2024 14:58
Court will resume at 10:30am ET
Alec Baldwin will be back in court today as the first week of his involuntary manslaughter trial comes to a close.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the film set “Rust,” who was convicted in March, is set to take the stand.
But will she speak? Her attorney has said she will plead the fifth.
Gutierrez-Reed is reportedly being transported from prison to the Santa Fe courthouse this morning.
Andrea Cavallier12 July 2024 14:00
Who is Hannah Gutierrez-Reed?
The stepdaughter of renowned sharpshooter and weapons consultant Thell Reed, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was 24 at the time of the deadly rehearsal on the “Rust” film set in Santa Fe.
“Rust” was her second assignment as an armorer in a feature film.
Her attorneys argued that she was scapegoated, pointing to safety concerns that went beyond their client.
She was sentenced to 18 months in prison on an involuntary manslaughter conviction, which she’s appealing.
At her sentencing, Gutierrez-Reed said she had tried to do her best on the set despite not having “proper time, resources and staffing.”
Andrea Cavallier12 July 2024 13:00
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed set to testify today
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, a movie weapons armorer, is expected to be transported from prison to the courthouse this morning, but her attorney has said she will plead the fifth.
In March, Gutierrez-Reed received the maximum sentence of 18 months in jail for involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting.
A New Mexico judge found that Gutierrez-Reed’s recklessness amounted to a serious violent offense, while noting few indications of genuine remorse from the defendant since her conviction.
Prosecutors blame Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust,” where it was expressly prohibited, and for failing to follow basic gun-safety protocols.
Andrea Cavallier12 July 2024 12:00
