Assistant director says armorer handed gun to Alec Baldwin before fatal shooting of cinematographer

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Courtroom testimony within the deadly taking pictures of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin offered new particulars Thursday that battle with different, earlier accounts a few ultimate security examine on a revolver and precisely who handed it to the actor throughout rehearsal for the Western film “Rust.”

Assistant director David Halls, the protection coordinator on set, informed jurors that weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who’s on trial on fees of manslaughter and proof tampering, twice handed the revolver to Baldwin. It was first emptied of bullets, Halls testified, after which loaded once more with a number of dummy rounds and a stay spherical.

Baldwin was pointing the weapon at Hutchins when it went off on the film set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 20, 2021, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on “Rust,” was individually indicted by a grand jury final month; his trial is scheduled for July.

“I did not see Ms. Gutierrez take the gun from Mr. Baldwin,” Halls stated throughout questioning by the prosecution, “but she appeared back on my left-hand side and she said that she had put dummy rounds into the revolver.”

The testimony of Halls, who pleaded no contest final 12 months to negligent use of a firearm and accomplished six months of unsupervised parole, could weigh considerably as prosecutors reconstruct the chain of occasions and custody of ammunition that led to the taking pictures.

He described a rudimentary security examine through which Gutierrez-Reed opened a latch on the revolver and he may see three or 4 dummy rounds inside that he acknowledged.

“She took a few steps to Mr. Baldwin and gave … Baldwin the gun,” Halls testified.

Gutierrez-Reed hasn’t testified however informed investigators within the aftermath of the taking pictures that she left the loaded gun within the palms of Halls and walked out of a makeshift church on the set beforehand. She has pleaded not responsible.

Baldwin, who has pleaded not responsible to a cost of involuntary manslaughter in his case, initially informed investigators that Gutierrez-Reed handed him the gun however later stated it was Halls. The actor has stated he pulled again the hammer however not the set off.

Halls acknowledged on the witnesses stand that he “was negligent in checking the gun properly” as a result of he didn’t look at all of the rounds inside.

His testimony included a visceral account of standing simply 3 toes (about 1 meter) from Hutchins when the one gunshot rang out. As Hutchins was on the bottom, he requested if she was alright.

“She said, ‘I can’t feel my legs,’” Halls stated.

Halls stated he left the church to make sure positive somebody known as 911. He added that he struggled to grasp how a stay spherical may been fired, returning to the church to retrieve the gun from a pew earlier than taking it exterior to have it unloaded by a crew member and examine the ammunition.

“The idea that it was a live round of ammunition that went off … it wasn’t computing,” he stated.

Defense attorneys say issues on the set had been past Gutierrez-Reed’s management and have pointed to shortcomings within the assortment of proof and interviews. They additionally say the primary ammunition provider wasn’t correctly investigated.

Prosecutors say Gutierrez-Reed is guilty for bringing stay ammunition on set and she or he handled primary security protocols for weapons as non-obligatory. They say six stay rounds bear similar traits and don’t match ones seized from the film’s provider in Albuquerque.

In different courtroom testimony Thursday, a film props supervisor who helped handle weapons on set stated she threw away dummy ammunition rounds from two weapons within the speedy aftermath of the taking pictures whereas in a state of shock and panic.

Sarah Zachry stated she emptied the ammunition right into a rubbish container from weapons that had been utilized by actors aside from Baldwin. She known as it a “reactive decision” and stated she finally informed regulation enforcement.

Morgan Lee, The Associated Press