'Rust' armorer accused of 'negligent acts,' defense says she scapegoat

By Andrew Hay

SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) -A New Mexico prosecutor on Thursday held the chief weapons handler for Western "Rust" Hannah Gutierrez responsible for the 2021 fatal shooting of the film's cinematographer while her lawyer said she was being scapegoated for a tragedy.

Gutierrez, 27, listened calmly to the prosecution's opening statements in her involuntary manslaughter trial. She is accused of bringing live rounds on set - an act strictly forbidden for nearly a century.

She has pleaded not guilty and her lawyers told the jury of five women and seven men that she was being blamed for a chaotic, low-budget production where she was overworked, her requests for additional firearms training were ignored and actor Alec Baldwin broke basic gun safety rules by pointing the revolver at a person and pulling the trigger.

Hutchins was fatally shot after Baldwin was rehearsing on the Santa Fe film set with a reproduction Colt. 45 "Peacemaker" revolver that Gutierrez loaded with a live round. Director Joel Souza, who was injured in the incident, survived.

Charges were dropped against Baldwin last April only to be reinstated Jan. 19. His lawyers are seeking a June trial. Baldwin, who was also one of the "Rust" producers, has denied responsibility and said the gun fired without him pulling the trigger, adding weapons safety was not his job.

Both and FBI and independent test of the revolver found it would not fire without a trigger pull.

"Just because there was a tragedy, it doesn't mean that a crime was committed," Jason Bowles, Gutierrez's lawyer, said in his opening statement.

The death of Hutchins was the first on-set fatal shooting since actor Brandon Lee, the 28-year-old son of the late martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, died in 1993 while filming a movie when his colleague shot him.

"We believe it was the negligent acts and failures of the defendant Miss Gutierrez that contributed to Miss Hutchins' death and the live rounds being brought onto the set," said special prosecutor Jason Lewis, appointed nearly a year ago after two predecessors resigned following a series of legal missteps.

Gutierrez has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge as well as one of evidence tampering for allegedly handing off a bag of cocaine to a crew member on Oct. 21, 2021 after the shooting to stop police finding it. Each felony charge carries up to 18 months prison time.

The prosecution has alleged Gutierrez's drug use on evenings after filming meant she may have been hung over at work and unable to spot the difference between live and dummy rounds.

Lewis showed photos of live rounds found on set as evidence and said they should have been easy to detect as they had shiny nickel primers, or end caps, while the dummies had dull brass primers and looked aged. He said dummies had holes in the side or ball bearings inside that rattle when shaken.

Bowles countered that many dummy rounds on set had nickel primers while some had no ball bearings and were indistinguishable from live rounds.

He alleged props supplier Seth Kenney introduced the live rounds to the set and alleged props master Sarah Zachary, who worked for Kenney, disposed of evidence by throwing rounds away after the shooting.

Neither Kenney nor Zachry have been charged, and prosecutors have said there is no evidence Kenney supplied live rounds. Both are listed as potential witnesses by the prosecution and defense.

(Reporting By Andrew Hay; editing by Donna Bryson and Aurora Ellis)