Opening statements began Thursday in the trial of “The Last” armorer Hannah Gutierrez in New Mexico, with prosecutors claiming she consistently failed to follow “required” safety procedures and defense attorneys saying the set was “It's confusing,” he said.
A weapons handler has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of cinematographer Halina Hutchins by actor Alec Baldwin while handling a prop gun on set in Santa Fe.
She was later charged with tampering with evidence, with prosecutors alleging that she handed over a small bag of cocaine during an interrogation with police following the Oct. 21, 2021, shooting.
Mr. Gutierrez has pleaded not guilty. If convicted of both charges, he faces up to 18 months in prison.
Baldwin was practicing cross-draws in a church on the set of a Western movie when his gun fired live ammunition, hitting Hutchins and director Joel Souza, causing non-life-threatening injuries.
Prosecutors told jurors they would try to answer two questions during the trial: what led to Hutchins' death and how live ammunition was placed at the scene of the shooting.
“Regarding both questions, we believe that the actions that contributed to Mr. Hutchins' death and the actions that led to the introduction of live ammunition onto the set were the negligent acts and failures of the defendant, Mr. Gutierrez.” , prosecutor Jason Lewis told jurors in his opening statement.
Mr Lewis told jurors that although the firearms in the set would be referred to as prop guns, they were “legal firearms”. Showing jurors a photo of the gun involved in the shooting, he said it was made to look old, but was actually “a brand new gun that was in perfect working order when we arrived at the scene of the shooting.” said. He also showed the jury photos of what appeared to be live ammunition throughout the set, including what appeared to be live ammunition in the armourer's lap.
Ruiz said it was Gutierrez's job as an armorer to check each shot to make sure it didn't contain live ammunition and to check the firearms before they were taken to the shooting scene, but she It alleged that “mandatory” safety procedures were not always followed.
“The evidence will show that the defendant treated safety protocols as if they were optional, not that people's lives depended on doing his job correctly,” he said. .
He said jurors will hear from FBI analysts, firearms experts and the crew that her work was “unprofessional and sloppy.” Another crew member is expected to testify after the armorer's interview with police that Gutierrez gave her a bag containing what appeared to be cocaine.
Defense attorney Jason Bowles countered in his opening statement that the production and the state made Gutierrez a “scapegoat” for the tragic shooting.
“Just because there was a tragedy doesn't mean a crime happened,” he says.
Citing a New Mexico Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into the shooting, he said it “found that there was a lot of fault on the part of the production, not Mr. Gutierrez-Reed.”
He claimed that the production created a “confused scene” by giving Gutierrez prop work and taking away his job as lead armorer. He said the crew members, who he claimed mistreated Baldwin and other crew members by pointing their guns at them, were not given sufficient time to train them in how to use firearms.
“You won't hear anything [Gutierrez] Being in that church, firing that weapon, that was Alec Baldwin,” Bowles said.
Bowles on Thursday took aim at photos of the ammunition shown by the state, arguing that it was impossible to distinguish between live and dummy rounds in the photos. They also claimed that one of the crew members tampered with the scene after the shooting and disposed of evidence that was not recovered.
“What we have here is a theory based on evidence that has already been falsified,” he said.
Bowles told jurors that veteran Hollywood armorer Sel Reid, the defendant's father and first assistant director David Halls will testify about her abilities. Halls, who gave Baldwin the Colt .45 revolver, was charged with negligent use of a deadly weapon and sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation in March 2023 as part of a plea agreement.
“Mr. Gutierrez-Reed did his best job under very difficult circumstances,” Bowles said.
The trial is expected to last two weeks.
Jury selection was completed Wednesday, with 12 jurors and four alternates selected for the case. Of the 12 jurors, seven are men and five are women. All four substitutes are male.
Ahead of the trial, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer last week denied the defense's motion to dismiss the case and terminate the evidence tampering charge. She also admitted some of the prosecution's evidence regarding the armorer's alleged drug use.
Bowles argued in court filings that the substances in the bag were never tested and there was no evidence Gutierrez used them on or off set. He claimed she was charged with an offense “with intent to prejudice” the defendant during her trial.
Her lawyer previously said she expected a jury to acquit her. Gutierrez said he “begged for more firearms training” at the scene, but was “refused and ignored.”
Prosecutors argued in court filings that they had “substantial evidence” that Gutierrez unknowingly brought live ammunition onto the set.
During a motion hearing last week, Special Counsel Kari Morrissey said the state intends to “prove that there was impairment while in possession of the ammunition.” She also has photos showing the actual rounds on set, she said.
“There was a series of negligent acts over several days, and we have very specific evidence that Mr. Gutierrez was committing these negligent acts during the filming of the movie,” Morrissey told the judge.
Baldwin is also charged with manslaughter in the shooting. He pleaded not guilty.
The actor was initially indicted last year along with Gutierrez, but the special prosecutor in charge of the case dismissed his charges. A few months later, a grand jury indicted him on charges of manslaughter.
Following the January indictment, Baldwin's attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel said they “look forward to their day in court.” His trial is currently scheduled to begin in August.
ABC News' Vera Drymon contributed to this report.
