The Biggest Bombshells From Alec Baldwin's Rust Shooting Trial

This article discusses the ongoing trial of actor Alec Baldwin in connection with the fatal shooting on the set of the movie “Rust” in 2021. The focus of the article is on the testimony of several witnesses, particularly that of Marissa Poppell, a former Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office detective, and Kari Morrissey, a property master for PDQ Props.

Alec Baldwin‘s day in court has arrived.

A 66-year-old individual has entered not guilty pleas for the involuntary manslaughter charge in connection to the October 21, 2021, fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The unfortunate incident occurred when a live bullet was discharged from a prop gun during rehearsals on the set of the western film “Rust.” Halyna Hutchins was the victim and succumbed to her injuries.

The juror selection process began at the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico in Santa Fe on July 9 for this trial, which is estimated to continue for approximately two weeks.

Baldwin was informed that the gun given to him had no live bullets, and he didn’t pull the trigger himself.

In a December 2021 interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Baldwin emphatically stated, “I wouldn’t aim a gun at anyone and pull the trigger, absolutely not.” He expressed his bafflement over how a live bullet found its way into the firearm, let alone one that wasn’t meant to be on the set.

At 1:46 p.m., a shooting took place approximately 20 miles southeast of Santa Fe at Bonanza Creek Ranch, as reported by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. Hutchins, a 42-year-old woman, was struck in the chest during the incident and was transported to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque via helicopter. Sadly, she did not survive and was later declared deceased at the hospital.

The bullet that fatalistically ended her life likewise wounded the film’s director, Joel Souza, in his shoulder. The 51-year-old was subsequently transported by ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center for care and discharged that same evening, as reported by the New York Times.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, a 27-year-old woman and the daughter of a seasoned Hollywood weapons expert, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, but not guilty of evidence tampering, in March over her role as the armorer on the “Rust” film set. On April 15, she received the maximum sentence of 18 months in jail.

In May, her lawyers filed an appeal against her conviction and applied for her temporary release from jail during the appeals process. They maintained in their application that Gutierrez- Reed, who had entered a plea of not guilty at the trial, was neither a danger to the public nor a risk of fleeing before the conclusion of the legal proceedings.

If Baldwin is found guilty, he could be looking at a potential sentence of 18 months in prison. It remains to be seen how a conviction might impact the production timeline for “The Baldwins,” the reality show set to debut on TLC in 2025 featuring Baldwin, his wife Hilaria Baldwin, and their seven children.

Hilaria attended the court hearing alongside Stephen Baldwin, the younger brother of her husband, and Beth Baldwin Keuchler, the defendant’s elder sister.

In January 2023, a former cast member of “30 Rock” was initially accused of involuntary manslaughter and given additional charges for using a firearm. However, the First Judicial District Attorney, Mary Carmack-Altwies, stepped down from the case in March 2023 and replaced herself with special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis.

In a declaration, they dismissed the case against April, making it clear that this action didn’t exonerate Mr. Baldwin from potential legal responsibility and left open the possibility for future prosecution.

I’m confident that the pair presented their case before a Santa Fe grand jury in January, and subsequently, the jurors handed down an indictment charging them with involuntary manslaughter.

Prior to the jury selection process, Baldwin made an appearance in court on July 8. At this hearing, his legal team effectively contended that the prosecution should be barred from asserting at trial that the actor bore greater responsibility for Hutchins’ demise due to his role as a film producer.

First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer made a decision in favor of Baldwin on June 28, overruling the defense’s attempt to dismiss the case. Furthermore, she specified that only video evidence showcasing how Baldwin managed weapons on set would be permissible for prosecutors, while disallowing unrelated videos.

In her court testimony, as reported by the New York Times, Sommer stated that the other incidents involving him raising his voice at the crew or urging people to work faster were not important to the case.

The opening statements for the trial are set to commence on July 10th. It remains undecided if Baldwin will take the stand as a witness during the proceedings for the defense.

Read on for the biggest moments from the Rust shooting trial:

As a dedicated follower of the ongoing trial, I’d like to share one way of paraphrasing the given text in natural and easy-to-read language in the first person:

“He hears someone ask, ‘Shall I draw it?’ as he goes through the motions of pulling out his gun from under his jacket three times.”

As an obsessed fan of the legal world, I’d put it this way: In his opening statement, defense attorney Alex Spiro stressed that his client, being an actor, bears no responsibility for Halyna Hutchins’ tragic demise, despite allegations that he pulled the gun’s trigger. (Bear in mind, Baldwin has continuously refuted these claims.)

“Spiro stated that he hadn’t been aware, nor did he have any grounds for knowing, that the gun contained a live bullet.”

Spiro listened to the 911 call placed by the script supervisor following Hutchins’ shooting, which occurred at 1:46 p.m. on October 21, 2021.

The advertiser who interrupted my lunch with queries about revisions, as expressed by the caller, is held accountable.

David Halls, the first assistant director, received a sentence of six months’ probation without supervision in March 2023 following his no contest plea to a misdemeanor charge involving the reckless handling of a dangerous weapon.

As a lifestyle expert, I’d rephrase that to: Hannah Gutierrez- Reed and I, as Halls and the production armorer, were the last individuals who had possession of the gun prior to it being handed over to Alec Baldwin, unfortunately resulting in a fatal bullet being discharged.

In March, a court determined that Gutierrez was responsible for involuntary manslaughter and imposed a maximum prison term of 18 months against him. This penalty is identical to what Baldwin could receive if found guilty.

During Spiro’s initial presentation, the state voiced various concerns. Among these were their disagreements with his characterization of people’s desire to understand a calamity and pursue justice as an inherent aspect of human nature and grieving process.

“Spiro made it clear that justice equals truth. Unfortunately, Alec Baldwin‘s actions did not result in any wrongdoing being established.”

I, Nicholas LeFleur, a Santa Fe Police Department officer who was temporarily working with the sheriff’s department, was the first responder to arrive at Bonanza Creek Ranch following the shooting incident involving Hutchins on July 10.

During the heated pre-trial hearings, the jury was shown footage from LeFleur’s body camera against the defense’s strong protests. This footage included tense moments of Hutchins receiving medical attention following the shooting. Initially, the crew remained within the church premises before Hutchins was transported to an ambulance for additional treatment. They waited patiently for a helicopter to arrive and fly her to the hospital.

LeFleur testified that he felt the need, as evidenced by the body-cam footage, to go to his car and retrieve crime scene tape to establish a boundary around the area. However, he couldn’t recall whether this action was prompted by a request or if it was something he did instinctively.

“I knew we needed to start one,” he said.

In the video, Baldwin, who was seen puffing on a cigarette, wasn’t set apart by the authorities prior to taking his testimony, according to LeFleur. However, I did request that he be quiet.

During questioning, I, LeFleur, admitted that at the time I hung up the tape, I was unsure if a crime had transpired or if it was merely an accident.

During cross-examination, I admitted that while I testified for the prosecution that I instructed Baldwin not to converse with other witnesses, I didn’t personally go up to him to reiterate this request. Furthermore, I affirmatively answered when Spiro questioned if it was common for individuals to approach Baldwin to engage with him.

Additionally, Spiro argued that there were many police cars present and Baldwin could have been instructed to occupy any one of them alone. However, none of the officers requested this from him according to LeFleur’s observation.

As an avid fan of true crime investigations, I was absolutely fascinated when Marissa Poppel, a skilled crime scene technician with the Santa Fe Sherriff’s Office, shared this intriguing detail during her testimony on July 11th. She revealed that among the bullets discovered upon searching the set of “Rust” following the tragic shooting incident, there were not only those presumed to be inert or “dead,” but also some that were alarmingly live.

During Spiro’s questioning, she admitted that there were real bullets in the prop cart, hidden inside a munition box, and stored in gun holsters for two actors. In contrast, the props displayed in the courtroom photograph appeared to have silver dots at their bases, while the dummy rounds looked more golden or bronze.

“Based on your analysis of the ammunition and observing the resemblance between Starline nickel live rounds and nickel dummy rounds, it’s possible that they could have been mistakenly mixed up in that location?”

She said yes. Added Spiro? “In other words, somebody could have mistaken one for the other, right?”

Poppell replied, “Yes.”

Based on my thorough understanding of the July 10 testimony, I, as a diligent follower of the details, can confirm that Poppell was the individual who retrieved Baldwin’s shoulder holster from the church following the shooting incident. This holster contained one live bullet round.

As an obsessed fan, I can’t help but share my excitement about a recent court case. During the lunch break of the jury in the First Judicial District Court, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer made a decision that left me intrigued. She granted the prosecution permission to present a segment of a phone call between Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Baldwin, which he made from the police station following the shooting incident involving Halyna Hutchins. In this conversation, Alec encouraged Hilaria to come visit him in New Mexico, assuring her they would “have fun” together.

When Baldwin placed the call, he wasn’t aware that Hutchins had passed away, but he knew she had sustained severe injuries, as testified by special prosecutor Kari Morrissey in court.

If the defense hadn’t devoted so much time to portraying him as distressed and agitated, Morrissey mused, it might not matter, but apparently, he’s making arrangements for a getaway instead.

The judge addressed Baldwin’s legal team, who raised objections multiple times: “Your arguments regarding Mr. Baldwin’s distress are indeed significant and pertinent for me to consider in my ruling.”

At the cross-examination under Spiro’s scrutiny, Poppell asserted that she hadn’t concealed evidence by failing to include a box of bullets obtained from a good Samaritan following Gutierrez’s trial among the overall Rust-related evidence. She also maintained that she hadn’t disclosed this item to the defense. Instead, she insisted that she had never handed over any evidence to them.

As a dedicated follower of Morrissey’s investigation, I can tell you that he discovered the individual who provided Poppell with the munitions was a friend of Gutierrez’s father, renowned Hollywood armorer Thell Reed. The prosecutor subtly hinted this man aimed to implicate Seth Kenney, the Rust weapon supplier, in bringing live ammunition to the film set.

During her redirect, Poppell testified that she lacked proof that Kenney carried live ammunition to the scene, but she did possess evidence implicating Gutierrez in this regard.

Jason Bowles, attorney for Gutierrez, expressed surprise to NBC News that the bullets in question hadn’t been compared to other bullets discovered on the set of “Rust” for a comparison.

“Bowes stated that they had concealed the ball until it was brought up in court. To uncover the facts fully, one must pursue every potential clue.”

On the morning of July 12, the jury had just taken their seats in court when Judge Sommer dismissed them for the day following the defense’s allegation that the state had concealed crucial evidence.

Testifying in the court, Poppell stated that he received a package containing ammunition from Troy Teske, who is a friend of Gutierrez’s father and was earlier referred to as a “good Samaritan,” following Gutierrez’s conviction for involuntary manslaughter in March, in relation to Hutchins’ fatal incident.

Previously, Spiro asked Poppell to explain why she hadn’t included the Rust-related box among the other pieces of evidence.

This morning, prior to the jury’s entrance, Poppell reiterated that he hadn’t deliberately concealed anything. He explained to Spiro that he had been directed to file the box using a different case number, which is why he complied with the instruction.

I.e., the defense claims that the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and the state failed to disclose to Alec Baldwin that there existed proof indicating the live bullet used on set came from Seth Kenney.

Following a midday meal, the prosecution summoned Kenney, the proprietor of PDQ Props who had been contracted for supplying the film “Rust” with prop firearms and blank ammunition, to appear in court without the presence of the jury during a hearing on the defense’s motion.

As an avid follower of Kenney’s work and having provided over a thousand sets with dummy rounds, I can confidently affirm that the notion of bringing live ammunition to the set had never raised any doubt or hesitation in my mind.

Morrissey called the defense’s attempt to blame Kenney “a wild goose chase.”

I’m an expert in communication and lifestyle, and I’d suggest paraphrasing it this way: I happily stepped up to testify in court regarding my involvement, or rather lack thereof, in the missing box of ammunition that Teske delivered but wasn’t included in the evidence presented during the Rust trial.

As a lifestyle expert, I’d rephrase it as follows: I personally testified that attorney Jason Bowles was informed by Teske about the intention of providing him with the ammunition in question. Upon showing me a picture of the rounds, they appeared to me “noticeably different” compared to the live ammunition discovered on the set of “Rust.”

Morrissey was informed by Bowles that Teske wouldn’t be required to testify as a witness. After Teske delivered the rounds to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, Det. Alexandra Hancock (now Cpl.) subsequently notified Bowles they would be stored as evidence.

Morrissey testified she had “no idea” it wouldn’t be filed under the Rust case number.

The rounds Teske provided wouldn’t have harmed the state’s argument, Morrissey commented. They would have been the strongest pieces of evidence I could have asked for.

In simpler terms, Judge Sommer permanently declined to pursue the case against Baldwin, preventing it from being brought up again.

The judge concurred with the defense’s argument that the state failed to share crucial evidence. Consequently, the judge ruled that the most appropriate penalty was to dismiss the case.

Baldwin and Hilaria both choked up instantly as they realized how the judge was going to make a ruling. Every day of the trial, Stephen Baldwin, her brother-in-law, was in attendance along with them.

2024-07-14 18:01

The Biggest Bombshells From Alec Baldwin’s Rust Shooting Trial

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