Receive daily email updates from our journalists around the country, delivered directly to your inbox.
Here is an overview of the most recent news stories from various parts of the United States.
The upcoming court hearing for a film armorer accused of causing the death of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin may depend on a persistent unknown: How did real bullets end up on the New Mexico movie location where they were strictly forbidden?
Six live bullets were found in various locations on the set of the Western film Rust, including a box, a bandolier, and a gun belt. One of these bullets caused the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
The special prosecutors have stated that they will provide significant proof during the trial that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the movie armourer, unintentionally had live rounds on the set when she initially started working on the film.
According to reports, there is evidence of live ammunition being on set before the fatal shooting of Hutchins. Additionally, there are plans to present testimony that Gutierrez-Reed had purchased .45-calibre ammunition months prior to the incident.
“The special prosecutor, Kari Morrissey, stated in a recent court document that Ms. Gutierrez is being charged with homicide due to negligence, rather than intentional homicide. According to Morrissey, the accident was a result of a series of careless actions, as live rounds were present on set prior to October 21, 2021. Ms. Gutierrez’s continuous negligent behavior created multiple opportunities for live rounds to remain undetected.”
Gutierrez-Reed entered a plea of not guilty for the charge of involuntary manslaughter. The trial commenced on February 21st with the selection of a jury.
Her lawyers characterize the evidence of her potentially bringing live ammunition on set as weak and insufficient for prosecution.
shows a
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has released a video screenshot that is undated.
The lawyers representing her are also claiming that the prosecution has jeopardized an important witness in the trial by sharing confidential communications related to the case with a dummy ammunition supplier in Albuquerque. They believe this supplier, Rust, is responsible for providing live ammunition that was used on the set. A separate lawsuit filed by Gutierrez-Reed against ammunition supplier Seth Kenney was dismissed in August and cannot be filed again.
Much of the evidence about ammunition on set – culled from sources including thousands of text messages between Rust crew members – has not been made public under commonplace rules of evidentiary discovery prior to trial.
The legal action taken against the armorer has consequences for Baldwin, who was the main actor and co-producer of the movie. He has declared his innocence in regards to the charge of involuntary manslaughter and may have a trial in the near future. The assistant director and safety coordinator for Rust, David Halls, admitted to handling a firearm unsafely and was given a suspended sentence of six months of probation. He has also agreed to assist in the investigations of the shooting.
According to prosecutors, Gutierrez-Reed allegedly inserted a live bullet into the firearm that was fired by Baldwin during the October 2021 rehearsal, resulting in the death of Hutchins. They claim that this tragic incident was due to inadequate supervision of ammunition.
Baldwin stated that he believed the gun contained only inactive dummy rounds that were incapable of firing, and that another individual was accountable.
However, the charges against Baldwin offer two options for prosecution: one related to carelessly using a firearm and the other linked to negligence without proper caution or “circumspection,” which is defined as a complete lack of concern or disregard for the safety of others. According to legal professionals, the latter standard could expand the scope of the investigation beyond just Baldwin’s handling of the gun. A trial date has yet to be determined for Baldwin.
A photograph taken from the air displays a portion of the Bonanza Creek Ranch film location for the movie ‘Rust’.
The use of a functional handgun was observed in Rust. According to a general guideline that applies to Rust, it is forbidden to have any live ammunition on any studio lot or stage. The guideline also states that all firearms should be handled as if they are loaded.
The individuals on the crew also reported that Bonanza Creek Ranch, where the incident occurred, strictly prohibited the use of actual ammunition on its premises.
According to state regulators for workplace safety, Gutierrez-Reed was in charge of storing, maintaining, and handling firearms and ammunition on the set. They were also responsible for loading firearms with blanks, which contain a charge but no actual projectile, or with inert dummy rounds.
Live rounds are typically distinguished from dummy rounds by a small hole in the dummy’s brass cartridge, indicating there is no explosive inside, by a missing or dimpled primer at the bottom of the cartridge, or by shaking the round to hear the clatter of a BB that is inserted inside.
In just a few cases, the use of real bullets on American movie sets has had serious repercussions.
Actor Brandon Lee died in 1993 after he was shot in the abdomen while filming a scene of The Crow. Lee was killed by a makeshift bullet that remained in a gun from a previous scene. The production ended up paying a $55,000 fine to federal regulators.
In 2005, the government penalized Greystone Television and Films with a $650 fine due to an incident where a crew member was injured by a gunshot in the thigh, elbow, and hand. It was discovered that birdshot rounds designed for popping balloons were mistakenly mixed in with the rifle blanks.
A report from state regulators in New Mexico regarding the Rust shooting was highly critical, stating that the production company failed to establish a procedure for safely storing live rounds on set and did not allocate enough time for the armorer to properly account for all ammunition.
The prosecutors are seeking to prevent the regulators’ findings from being presented in the trial, as they could potentially be utilized to argue that “Rust” management was at fault for the safety failures, rather than Gutierrez-Reed.
In recent court documents before trial, both the defense and prosecution have engaged in heated and negative arguments, with accusations of unconstitutional and vengeful tactics. Special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis are seeking more felony charges against Gutierrez-Reed for allegedly tampering with evidence by giving a baggie of possible drugs to a crew member after the shooting, and for filming herself bringing a gun into a Santa Fe bar weeks before the fatal incident.
The defense lawyer, Jason Bowles, alleges that the prosecution is fabricating charges in order to coerce Gutierrez-Reed into giving a false confession about the origin of the live ammunition found on the film set.
The state has consistently been willing to find a resolution for Ms. Gutierrez’s cases,” stated special prosecutor Morrissey in a legal document. “However, this is contingent upon her accepting responsibility for unintentionally bringing live ammunition onto the set of Rust.”
Source: independent.co.uk
