SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors in New Mexico are pursuing accountability for the 2021 death of a cinematographer who was fatally shot by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal for the Western film “Rust.”
Before Baldwin’s case progresses, the armorer on the set is being tried on charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. Jury selection in Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s trial started Wednesday in Santa Fe.
Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintains she’s not directly to blame for Halyna Hutchins’ death. Baldwin also has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in a separate case.
The process for selecting 12 jurors began with a pool of 70 residents from the Santa Fe area, including non-English speakers, a welder, a teacher, a graduate student and a mother who provides for six children. A prosecutor began with questions for jurors about their exposure to intensive media coverage and social media chatter about the case.
Prosecutors plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed loaded a live round into the gun that killed Hutchins after unknowingly bringing live ammunition onto a set where it was expressly prohibited. They contend the armorer missed multiple opportunities to ensure safety on the movie set.
Defense attorneys have said they have evidence that will show otherwise.
The evidence and testimony has implications for Baldwin, who was pointing a gun at Hutchins during an October 2021 rehearsal outside Santa Fe when she was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded.
Gutierrez-Reed, the stepdaughter of renowned sharpshooter and weapons consultant Thell Reed, was 25 at the time of Hutchins’ death. “Rust” was her second assignment as an armorer in a feature film.
Gutierrez-Reed faces up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The evidence tampering charge stems from accusations she handed a small bag of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection by law enforcement.
Her attorneys say that charge is prosecutors’ attempt to smear Gutierrez-Reed’s character. The bag was thrown away without testing the contents, defense attorneys said.
More than 40 people are listed as witnesses during the trial that’s scheduled to run through March 6.
Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for storage, maintenance and handling of firearms and ammunition on set and for training members of the cast who would be handling firearms, according to state workplace safety regulators.
