Testimony continues Friday in Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' trial

Testimony is underway in actor Alec Baldwin’s trial for involuntary manslaughter. He's been in court this week supported by his wife, Hilaria, and multiple siblings.

Nearly three years ago, Baldwin was pointing a gun during a rehearsal on the set of the movie Rust. It went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding the film’s director, Joel Souza.

Testimony so far

On Wednesday, jurors heard testimony from multiple Santa Fe officers on the scene that day, along with crime scene technician Marissa Poppell. On Thursday, attorneys continued to question Poppell for hours about the source of the ammunition on the film set.

Later, Alessandro Pietta, the Italian firearms manufacturer whose company created the gun in question, testified that the firearm could only be set off by pulling the trigger. And a representative from a marketing firm that distributes Pietta guns in the United States testified about their safety standards.

Alexandra Hancock, a detective in Santa Fe, said that Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had brought live ammunition to the set. Gutierrez-Reed has already been convicted for involuntary manslaughter and is serving an 18-month sentence.

Opening arguments

Attorneys on both sides presented their opening arguments to the jury on Wednesday.

The prosecution’s approach

Special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson argued that Baldwin flouted safety standards on set.

“The evidence will show that someone who played make believe with a real gun and violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety is the defendant, Alexander Baldwin,” Johnson said.

She argued that Baldwin didn’t do a safety check of the Colt .45 before the fatal shooting during a rehearsal in a church scene for Rust.

The defense

Baldwin’s attorney, Alex Spiro, argued that others were responsible for letting a live round onto the film set and into the gun in the first place.

“Those people failed in their duties, but Alec Baldwin committed no crime,” he argued. One of those people, he said, was Gutierrez-Reed.

Spiro also played tape of a 911 call made from the set, in which Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell calls the shooting an accident. She also mentions the film’s first assistant director, calling him “responsible.” First assistant director Dave Halls previously took a plea deal and agreed to testify in upcoming trials related to the shooting, including Baldwin’s.

Catch up on Baldwin’s case so far

• Baldwin was indicted earlier this year, after earlier charges against him were downgraded and later dropped.
• Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of Rust in New Mexico, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year.
• Halyna Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, settled in court with Baldwin and other Rust producers. Hutchins became an executive producer on the Rust film, which continued production and wrapped up filming in Montana last year.
• Halyna Hutchins’ death during a rehearsal for Rust re-opened a debate about whether or not real guns belong on movie sets at all, and drew renewed attention to broader challenges of on-set safety.