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7 months ago
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The man who handed Alec Baldwin the gun that killed Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins over two years ago today broke down on the stand describing what happened that October day on the set of the Indie Western. Veteran first assistant director David Halls also blatantly admitted he was “negligent” in not checking the firearm properly after armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
“It’s important to me that the truth be known, that that Halyna’s husband and son, her family know the truth of what happened,” Halls told the jury in the Santa Fe courthouse as Gutierrez-Reed sat just a few feet away.
“It’s important that the cast and the crew, producers of Rust know what happened,” he added with his voice breaking frequently under question from Special Prosecutor Kerri Morrissey. “And it’s important that that industry, the motion picture and television industry knows what happened, so this never happens again.”
Covered by a plea deal that secured him six-months’ probation last year, the now retired Halls has always said he had no idea how live rounds got into the Colt .45 revolver.
Once again facing involuntary manslaughter charges and set for his own trial to start in July, Baldwin has always insisted he never pulled the trigger on the gun that fatal fired on Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. The FBI and independent firearms experts say that it was nearly impossible for the gun to fire without the trigger being pulled.
No one has been able to convincingly prove how those live rounds got on the Bonanza Creek Ranch set of Rust, though prosecutors have put the blame on the inexperienced Gutierrez-Reed.
That all-over the map tone came across to some degree in Halls’ testimony Thursday. Though at one point he referred to it being “not acceptable” the way Gutierrez-Reed performed some of her armorer duties, under questioning from defense lawyer Jason Bowles, Halls said she was “very clear …confident” in her job.
Charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering, Gutierrez-Reed could go to state prison for up to three years if found guilty. Called both “sloppy” and a “scapegoat” in opening statements on February 22, the case is expected to go to the jury on March 8.
Earlier today, seasoned film armorer Bryan W. Carpenter summed up the job on the stand with a curt: “Complacency kills.” At the same time Carpenter, made a very good case for the defense inadvertently by asserting that the armorer has great powers to halt filming and instruct actors on firearm safety — which Gutierrez-Reed was not permitted to do on Rust it appears. “Time is an exact equal to money..it’s down to seconds on a film,” he added of the rushing around that Rust and all films endure.
Baldwin, who recently entered a not guilty plea of his own, faces at a maximum of 18 months behind bars and around $5,000 in fines if found guilty of his involuntary manslaughter charge.
Resurrected last year without Gutierrez-Reed, Rust 2.0 completed filming in Montana. Souza was back as director, and Baldwin as star and producer. The now finished Rust is currently looking for a buyer.
