The lead detective in the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” is expected to take the stand on Friday at Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial in New Mexico. The prosecution will present their case, trying to portray the movie star as a reckless cavalier with a gun in his hand, while the defense will argue that Baldwin was simply doing his job as a working actor.
Cpl. Alexandria Hancock of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, who became the chief investigator two weeks after the October 2021 shooting, conducted the first interviews of Baldwin, “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, and assistant director David Halls – the three individuals facing criminal charges in the case.
Hancock briefly testified on Thursday and will continue her direct examination by the prosecution on Friday. The defense is expected to conduct a long cross-examination, as they seek to challenge the investigation, which they believe unfairly focused on Baldwin.
Before Hancock’s testimony, Italian gunmaker Alessandro Pietta took the stand on Thursday to discuss the quality control in the manufacturing process of the gun used in the fatal shooting. The gun, which was eventually acquired by an Albuquerque-based gun and ammunition supplier to “Rust,” was handled by Baldwin on the day of the incident. It was shipped in 2017 and last examined by Pietta in 2018.
The defense has raised concerns about the gun’s provenance and its use in trade shows for several years. They have suggested that the gun may have been modified or could discharge under certain circumstances without a trigger pull.
However, both Pietta and a sales distributor who handled the gun in September 2021 testified that the revolver was in good working order and had not been modified. Pietta also emphasized that the hammer on the gun can only drop with a trigger pull.
He stated, “If you want to release the hammer, you have to pull the trigger.”
Pietta also mentioned that it is standard practice to only load the gun with five rounds instead of six, to ensure that the firing pin does not rest on a live round. The defense has also called in gun experts, including an FBI forensic expert, who have acknowledged that the revolver can discharge if pressure is applied to the hammer while resting on a live round.
Baldwin’s defense team claims that the gun fired accidentally after he followed instructions to point it towards Hutchins, who was behind the camera. Unaware that it was loaded with a live round, he stated that he pulled back the hammer – not the trigger – and it fired.
Before Hancock returns to the stand, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer will consider striking testimony from Thursday about a “good Samaritan” who walked into a sheriff’s station with what he claimed was the supply of ammunition that killed Hutchins. This issue came up during the defense’s questioning of sheriff’s crime scene technician Marissa Poppell, where they suggested that authorities were too cozy with the film’s firearms supplier, Seth Kenney, and did not thoroughly investigate his role in the incident.
Poppell denied these claims and stated that the “good Samaritan” brought the ammunition into the sheriff’s department. However, the prosecution has established that the source of the ammunition was Troy Teske, a friend of Gutierrez-Reed’s father, who had motivations to redirect the blame. The bullets were also found to be of a different size than the live rounds found on the “Rust” set, including the one that killed Hutchins.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey sought to defend Kenney’s role in her questioning of Hancock, asking if there was any evidence that he supplied live rounds to the set of “Rust.” Hancock responded with a no. Kenney has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and an email sent to his attorney seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney has informed the defense that prosecutors will try to call her to testify. However, she will assert her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, as she has an appeal of her conviction pending. The judge declined to grant a pretrial request from prosecutors to give Gutierrez-Reed immunity for her testimony. She is currently serving an 18-month sentence, the same penalty that Baldwin faces if he is convicted.
In conclusion, as the trial continues, the prosecution will continue to present their case, while the defense will work to prove Baldwin’s innocence. The tragic incident on
