Next week, a trial is set to begin for a movie weapons supervisor involved in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the film 'Rust.' The case revolves around the central question of how live ammunition ended up on a movie set where it was strictly prohibited.
Investigation findings uncovered six live rounds of ammunition in various locations on the set, including the one that resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the injury of director Joel Souza. Special prosecutors claim they have substantial evidence showing that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the movie's armorer, unknowingly brought live rounds onto the set when she first started working on the film. They have photographs showing the presence of live rounds on set days before the tragedy occurred. Additionally, they plan to present testimony that Gutierrez-Reed had sought and purchased live ammunition prior to the shooting.
Prosecutors have charged Gutierrez-Reed with homicide based on negligence rather than intentional homicide. They argue that the tragedy was the result of a series of negligent acts, including the presence of live rounds on set well before the incident, creating numerous opportunities for them to go undetected.
Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter, and her attorneys argue that the evidence linking her to the live rounds falls short of the standards for prosecution.
Furthermore, her attorneys accuse prosecutors of compromising a key witness by sharing privileged communications related to the case with the supplier of dummy ammunition used in the film. They believe this supplier is the source of the live ammunition that made its way onto the set. However, a civil lawsuit filed by Gutierrez-Reed against the ammunition supplier was dismissed and cannot be refiled.
Most of the evidence concerning the presence of live ammunition on set, including thousands of text messages exchanged among 'Rust' crew members, has not been made public before the trial.
The outcome of this trial holds implications for actor and co-producer Alec Baldwin, who has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter in relation to the shooting. Baldwin has claimed that he believed the gun contained only inert dummy rounds and that someone else is ultimately responsible. The indictment against him provides two potential bases for prosecution: negligent use of a firearm or negligence without due caution or 'circumspection,' which could broaden the investigation beyond Baldwin's direct involvement. However, a trial date has not yet been set for Baldwin.
The industry-wide guidelines for handling firearms on movie sets explicitly state that live ammunition is strictly prohibited and should never be present on studio lots or stages. Crew members from 'Rust' have also stated that the location where the shooting occurred, Bonanza Creek Ranch, explicitly forbade the presence of live ammunition.
According to state workplace safety regulators, Gutierrez-Reed had the responsibility of storing, maintaining, handling firearms, and loading them with blanks or inert dummy rounds. Live rounds are typically discernible from dummy rounds by visual cues such as a small hole in the cartridge or the absence of a primer at the base.
Instances of live ammunition ending up on movie sets are rare but have had severe consequences in the past. One notable incident was the death of actor Brandon Lee in 1993 during the filming of 'The Crow.' He was fatally shot with a makeshift bullet that remained in a gun from a previous scene. Another incident occurred in 2005, resulting in injuries to a crew member from balloon-breaking birdshot rounds mixed in with blanks intended for rifles.
In the case of 'Rust,' a scathing report from state regulators highlighted the production company's failure to establish a process for preventing live rounds from being present on set and inadequate allocation of time for ammunition inventorying.
Prosecutors seek to exclude the regulators' conclusions from the trial, as it could shift responsibility for safety failures to 'Rust' management rather than Gutierrez-Reed.
The pretrial proceedings have seen heated exchanges between defense counsel and prosecutors, with accusations of unconstitutional prosecution tactics. Prosecutors have added additional felony charges of tampering with evidence, alleging that Gutierrez-Reed handed off a baggie of narcotics to another crew member to evade prosecution and filmed herself bringing a gun into a bar weeks before the fatal shooting.
In response, Gutierrez-Reed's defense attorney claims that prosecutors are pressuring her to make a false confession regarding the source of the live ammunition by levying these additional charges.
The special prosecutor, Kari Morrissey, stated in a court filing that the state has been open to resolving Gutierrez-Reed's cases on the condition that she takes responsibility for unknowingly bringing live ammunition to the set. The trial is expected to shed further light on the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident and determine the extent of Gutierrez-Reed's culpability.
