The special prosecutors in the New Mexico trial of actor Alec Baldwin on involuntary manslaughter charges want a judge to force “Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, already convicted on the same charge, to testify against him.
Gutierrez-Reed is already on Baldwin’s witness list for his trial, set to begin July 9. Baldwin is charged in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was struck by bullet from the gun he was handling during the movie rehearsal in October 2021, The Blast reported.
Baldwin was handling a gun handed to him by an assistant director and declared “cold” — not loaded with live ammunition — during a rehearsal for the movie when Hutchins was fatally shot, as CrimeOnline reported. The assistant director, David Halls, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and testified against Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for loading the weapon and who was found guilty earlier this year and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Halls is expected to testify against Baldwin.
It’s not clear why prosecutors are asking a judge to force Gutierrez-Reed to testify since she is already on Baldwin’s witness list. The Blast said she asserted her Fifth Amendment rights during a pre-trial interview last month, so they may be trying to make sure she takes the stand in the event the defense decides not to call her.
“If Ms. Gutierrez is not compelled to testify by the Court, […] the State would be unable to cross-examine Ms. Gutierrez about her statements and the State would also be unable to present testimony from Ms. Gutierrez that is inculpatory to Defendant Baldwin,” the prosecution filing said.
The documents say the prosecutors want the set armorer to testify that Baldwin was inattentive during safety training sessions and that other actors on set did their own safety checks on guns and didn’t rely on the the person whose job it was to make sure live bullets weren’t loaded.
The documents say prosecutors are offering no benefit to Gutierrez-Reed’s testimony other than to promise not to use what she says against her if her appeal of her own conviction is successful.
Meanwhile, a judge in California ruled that footage from a documentary about the shooting cannot be used in evidence, according to Rolling Stone. Prosecutors had subpoenaed filmmaker Rory Kennedy’s interviews with witnesses, but the judge set aside those subpoenas. Prosecutors said they had already gotten other footage.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Hannah Gutierrez-Reed/Santa Fe Adult Detention Facility and FILE – Alec Baldwin in 2021/(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)]
