Shocking Twist in Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Case: Armorer’s Criminal Past Unveiled!

Following the successful conviction in the trial of the “Rust” movie’s armorer, the next target for prosecutors in New Mexico is actor Alec Baldwin, as they aim to demonstrate his criminal culpability for the inadvertent death of the film’s cinematographer in October 2021.

Indeed, Special Prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey didn’t even wait for the twelve-member jury in Santa Fe, N.M., to rule Hannah Gutierrez, the weapon handler, guilty of involuntary manslaughter before presenting evidence that could potentially implicate Baldwin.

In the closing arguments on Wednesday, Morrissey harshly criticized Baldwin for his handling and use of firearms on the set of “Rust”, especially when he pointed his prop gun at the film’s director of photography Halyna Hutchins, who was standing just a few feet away, during a scene rehearsal in a country church. Hutchins was fatally shot and died that same afternoon.

“Alec Baldwin will have to answer for his actions and his disregard for gun safety inside that church that day,” Morrissey promised the jury during Gutierrez’s trial.

However, legal experts gave varying views on whether the conviction of Gutierrez will enhance prosecutors’ chances of securing a guilty verdict against Baldwin in the “Rust” shooting. In January, Baldwin, the actor-producer, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to Hutchins’ death, which occurred hours after she was shot at a remote movie set south of Santa Fe. If found guilty, he could face up to 18 months in prison.

Baldwin has declared his innocence and his trial is scheduled for July. His lawyers declined to comment when approached on Thursday.

According to legal experts, New Mexico prosecutors, a pair of seasoned attorneys from Albuquerque who took over the case almost a year ago, have shown great competence and confidence. The previous team of prosecutors, including the district attorney of Santa Fe County, had to step down from the Gutierrez and Baldwin cases last year following a series of blunders.

Morrissey has notably demonstrated readiness to pursue Baldwin’s prosecution. She and her legal partner, Jason J. Lewis, successfully outflanked Gutierrez’s defense lawyers, who attempted to shift the blame for the tragedy onto the film’s production managers and producers, including Baldwin.

It took the twelve-member jury just about two hours of deliberation on Wednesday to return a guilty verdict against Gutierrez.

“This conviction represents a significant momentum for the prosecution, and Baldwin’s legal team must be viewing it with apprehension,” said former federal prosecutor John Fishwick on Thursday.

However, other seasoned attorneys have highlighted several complexities in the case that could make securing Baldwin’s conviction more challenging. For instance, Baldwin was given the prop gun on that day and informed that it was “cold,” meaning it was not loaded. But in reality, the chamber of the revolver had six rounds — five dummy bullets and a live round that led to Hutchins’ death.

Baldwin has contended, with support from the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, that he was not responsible for gun safety on set and was relying on other professionals to ensure a safe production. But that argument may not be persuasive in a court of law.

“His defense can’t be, ‘I’m merely an actor,’ a special argument that’s unique to him,” said Joshua Kastenberg, a law professor at the University of New Mexico. “Why should actors be treated differently than ordinary citizens? They shouldn’t.”

Undeniably, Baldwin’s status as a globally recognized movie star significantly amplifies the stakes and scrutiny of his prosecution.

Los Angeles-based trial attorney Dave Ring suggested that Baldwin’s celebrity status could dominate the case.

“The prosecution will face a steep, uphill battle to convict Alec Baldwin in the upcoming trial,” Ring said. “There’s a big difference between convicting a 26-year-old woman who is relatively unknown and has committed extremely reckless acts, and convicting one of America’s most beloved celebrities.”

At Baldwin’s trial, the prosecutors will need to prove that the star acted recklessly. Baldwin’s conduct on the “Rust” set was a major point of discussion during Gutierrez’s ten-day trial.

Prosecutors played video clips from behind-the-scenes footage taken during the “Rust” filming. In one scene, Baldwin fired his Colt .45 long-barreled gun as he sprinted up a hill covered in chaparral. After someone yelled, “Cut,” Baldwin then fired another round.

During Gutierrez’s trial, witnesses testified that the cross-draw maneuver Baldwin was practicing while sitting in a pew in the wooden church — which was when the gun went off — was not part of the script.

Gutierrez told investigators from the sheriff’s department that she wasn’t in the church during the rehearsal because she didn’t know Baldwin would be using the gun. Joel Souza, the director who was injured in the shooting, testified that the intention was for Baldwin to merely start the action of slowly pulling his pistol from his leather shoulder holster — not to point it at the camera.

A crucial issue will be whether Baldwin actually pulled the trigger; he has consistently claimed that he did not. Prosecutors will have to address questions about the condition of his prop gun, which was damaged during testing at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va., in 2022 when it was hit by a rawhide mallet, according to the testimony of FBI forensic examiner Bryce Ziegler.

The defense team for Baldwin has used the damage to the gun to suggest that the gun was defective when Baldwin was handling it in the church.

“The gun will be a central issue in Alec Baldwin’s case,” Ring said. “The defense will seek to confuse the issue by suggesting that the gun was somehow defective and perhaps fired on its own or fired with a slight pressure on the trigger.”

In an ABC News special two months after the tragic incident, Baldwin told anchor George Stephanopoulos: “The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger. … I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them.”

However, it appears that Morrissey, the prosecutor, has doubts about Baldwin’s claims about the trigger and whether that exoneration him of guilt.

“Did Mr. Baldwin also contribute [to Hutchins’ death] when he pointed the gun at people and pulled the hammer back and — regardless of what he said to George Stephanopoulos — pulled the trigger?” Morrissey asked the jury. “Yes, he did.”

Another subtlety, according to UNM law professor Kastenberg, is that the prosecutors will have to persuade the jury that two individuals — Baldwin and the already convicted Gutierrez — are guilty of the same crime.

“The ‘shared guilt’ aspect of this case of criminal negligence makes it more difficult for the prosecution,” Kastenberg said, noting that since Gutierrez has already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a felony, in Hutchins’ death, jurors might conclude that she was mainly responsible.

The conviction of Gutierrez marks the second win for New Mexico prosecutors. “Rust” assistant director David Halls pleaded no contest to one count of negligent use of a deadly weapon for his role in Hutchins’ death, a misdemeanor. Halls testified that he did not adequately check Baldwin’s gun.

Baldwin, Gutierrez, and others have stated that it was Halls who gave Baldwin the loaded prop pistol that day. However, during Gutierrez’s trial, Halls denied this claim, stating that it was Gutierrez who handed the revolver to Baldwin.

It remains possible that Baldwin’s case may not go to trial at all.

Baldwin’s attorneys could potentially arrange a plea deal, which would spare him the public humiliation of a trial with all its accusations and evidence.

“Such a move would allow Baldwin to avoid a highly publicized, messy trial,” Ring said. “It would also enable the prosecution to save face, secure another criminal conviction in the case, and avoid a trial that they might not win.”