Shock & Drama: ‘Rust’ Movie Shooting Trial Finally Underway After Rocky Road to Justice!

Over two years have passed since the fatal incident involving Alec Baldwin on the set of the film “Rust,” yet the question of accountability for cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’ accidental death remains unanswered.

The initial court hearing related to the “Rust” shooting incident is set to commence this week in a Santa Fe, N.M. courtroom, following a complex and drawn-out prosecution process.

Central to the case is the mystery of how at least six real bullets ended up among the dummy and blank rounds typically used in film production. This includes the lead bullet that was fired from Baldwin’s Colt .45 revolver on the tragic day in October 2021.

Prosecutors contend that Hannah Gutierrez, the film’s armorer, is primarily accountable for Hutchins’ death, a promising talent in the filmmaking industry. Their intent is to persuade a jury to convict Gutierrez on felony charges, which could result in a three-year prison sentence, on the grounds that her recklessness led to live ammunition being brought onto the set. This was only her second job as a chief armorer on a Hollywood production.

Gutierrez, a 26-year-old from Arizona, refutes the claim that she brought live ammunition to the set. She has entered a plea of not guilty to two charges of involuntary manslaughter, one charge of tampering with evidence, and an unrelated firearms possession charge.

On Wednesday, Gutierrez appeared at the Santa Fe County Courthouse at 8 a.m. alongside her lawyer, dressed in a black suit and a high-collared, Champagne-colored blouse. The bright green and purple hair she once had during the “Rust” production was replaced with neatly pinned, wavy brown hair.

Attorneys spent close to eight hours on Wednesday interviewing potential jurors. By 5 p.m. local time, a panel of 16 jurors, including four alternates, was chosen to hear the evidence in the first high-profile trial associated with the “Rust” incident.

Out of the main jurors, seven are men, and five are women. The alternates are all men.

The trial, which will be broadcast on Court TV, is scheduled to start on Thursday and run until March 6.

During Wednesday’s proceedings, Special Prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey commented that nearly all of the first pool of 70 potential jurors were aware of the “Rust” shooting incident. She warned that the jury selection process would be time-consuming.

A number of potential jurors reported personal difficulties that would hinder extended service. One woman cited that her dog was scheduled for surgery which could not be postponed. Late on Wednesday, Morrissey asked the potential jurors if their judgment could be swayed by sympathy for the young and inexperienced Gutierrez. At least five potential jurors responded affirmatively, but assured that they would adhere to the judge’s instructions on the law.

One man expressed his belief that Gutierrez had been treated unfairly. He was not chosen to be on the jury.

Gutierrez is one of three individuals facing criminal charges in relation to the death of the 42-year-old cinematographer. Involuntary manslaughter charges were brought against Baldwin by a Santa Fe County grand jury last month. The actor, who has pleaded not guilty, may face trial as early as this summer.

Baldwin believed his Colt .45 revolver was unloaded when he started rehearsing a scene in a wooden chapel at the popular Bonanza Creek Ranch film location, south of Santa Fe. He denies pulling the trigger.

The gun was handed to Baldwin by David Halls, the film’s assistant director, who claimed it was “cold.” A year prior, Halls pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, in exchange for a suspended sentence.

Baldwin has admitted to pulling back the hammer and aiming the gun at Hutchins, who was standing roughly two feet away. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was also injured.

“You don’t anticipate that it could be your last day when you go to work,” said Joyce M. Gilliard, founder of the nonprofit ISAFE (Industry Safety Awareness for Everyone) TV and Film, in a Wednesday interview with The Times. “But yet another life was lost — another death that could have been avoided.”

The commencement of Gutierrez’s “Rust” trial comes a decade after another film set accident that resulted in injuries to Gilliard and the death of Sarah Jones, a camera assistant. Both women were part of the crew preparing a scene on a railway trestle for “Midnight Rider,” a Gregg Allman biopic, when a train struck them.

“Safety must always be our top priority when filming. Without exception,” Gilliard stated. “There were safety protocols in ‘Rust,’ but they were not adhered to.”

Over the past year, special prosecutors have been building the case against Gutierrez. She has admitted to loading what she believed were “dummy” bullets into Baldwin’s Colt .45 caliber revolver.

Jason Bowles, an attorney from Albuquerque, argues that his client Gutierrez is unjustly being held accountable for a sequence of actions and oversights on set that led to the fatal shooting. Bowles alleges that Gutierrez was spread too thin, struggling to balance two roles on the low-budget film because the producers were allegedly prioritizing cost-cutting over safety. The producers deny this claim.

Similar issues have been raised by several crew members. Over half a dozen members of the “Rust” camera crew resigned the night before the accident, citing safety concerns and inadequate lodging.

The death of Hutchins was attributed to the film’s producers by New Mexico’s Occupational Safety and Health Bureau. According to the investigation summary, “Rust did not provide personnel responsible for ensuring firearm safety with sufficient time to inspect the received ammunition to ensure that no live rounds were present.”

Gutierrez — the daughter of Hollywood sharpshooter Thell Reed and who accepted a job that more experienced individuals rejected — had requested additional firearms training for Baldwin, but this was denied by production managers, as per text message records. She was also reprimanded for dedicating too much time to handling firearms, neglecting some of her duties as a props assistant.

The prosecution has introduced allegations of drug use by Gutierrez during her off-duty hours.

Earlier this month, First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer agreed to admit some of Gutierrez’s text messages that hint at drug use as evidence, including messages about getting high in a hotel jacuzzi the night before Hutchins was shot.

“This could be influential evidence to a jury,” commented former federal prosecutor John P. Fishwick.

The prosecution intends to call a former friend of Gutierrez to testify. As per the friend’s testimony, on the night of the shooting, she stayed with Gutierrez until deputies arrived at the hotel room to check on Gutierrez. The armorer allegedly handed her a small plastic bag, with another bag inside.

The friend testified that it contained “a white powdery substance, which I knew to be cocaine; or I mean, it could have been meth or something, too,” according to a deposition transcript viewed by The Times.

However, Gutierrez’s team disputes that Gutierrez was under the influence or that the bag contained drugs, which is the basis for the evidence tampering charge.

While investigating the incident, sheriff’s detectives did not find evidence of drug use, although they did not test crew members for the presence of drugs or alcohol.

“For the defendant, this is a challenge,” said Fishwick. “The prosecutors will argue: ‘She concealed evidence, and therefore this person cannot be trusted.’ This might lend support to the more serious charge — manslaughter.”

The prosecution has been plagued by errors and issues with evidence. Morrissey and another special prosecutor, Jason J. Lewis, took over the case last spring after Gutierrez and Baldwin were initially charged.

After the shooting, the film’s property master, Sarah Zachry, told police that she disposed of bullets from another gun. The hammer of Baldwin’s gun was broken during 2022 ballistics testing by FBI weapons experts.

And the origin of the bullets was never discovered.

“The prosecutors claim that they’re going to prove that [Gutierrez] brought the bullets herself, for which we haven’t seen any compelling evidence,” said Joshua Kastenberg, a University of New Mexico law professor, this week. “When the prosecutor says substantial evidence, they’re not claiming that they can prove it with absolute certainty.”

“But I believe this ‘substantial evidence’ is going to build a bridge to what actually happened,” Kastenberg added.