New Mexico prosecutors trying to prove that Alec Baldwin was criminally negligent in the shooting death of the cinematographer of the movie “Rust” must grapple with a complicated piece of evidence: a damaged gun.
Baldwin has long maintained that he did not pull the trigger of his prop gun, a Colt .45 revolver, on October 21, 2021, while rehearsing a scene on the film's set outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was standing a few feet away. when Baldwin's gun went off, firing a lead bullet that fatally struck her in the chest. The shot also wounded the film's director, Joel Souza, who recovered from his wound.
A month after the accident, Baldwin told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos: “I didn't pull the trigger. … I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger.”
Lingering questions about the condition of the gun at the time of the shooting have proven thorny for prosecutors. Baldwin's defense team has suggested that the actor's prop gun was defective and may have malfunctioned, causing it to be discharged, a theory that is expected to be a centerpiece of the actor's defense. His attorneys have pointed to the gun's failure during testing to support Baldwin's recollection of his role in the tragic shooting.
Last month, a Santa Fe County grand jury indicted Baldwin on charges of involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, the 65-year-old actor could serve up to 18 months in prison. On Monday, New Mexico First Judicial District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer scheduled Baldwin's trial to begin with jury selection on July 9.
However, two ballistics experts have cast doubt on Baldwin's claims, including an FBI forensic examiner who testified Monday at the criminal trial of Hannah Gutierrez, the “Rust” gunsmith who loaded the actor's gun that day. Gutierrez faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in connection with the “Rust” shooting. This week's testimony, in a Santa Fe County courtroom, comes as New Mexico special prosecutors seek to strengthen their felony cases against Gutierrez and Baldwin.
Baldwin pleaded not guilty to the charges. His trial is expected to last eight days.
On Monday, the third day of Gutierrez's trial, FBI forensic examiner Bryce Ziegler took the stand.
Ziegler testified that he was responsible for damaging the gun during testing at the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, nearly two years ago.
The FBI analyst said Monday that he conducted a series of rigorous tests, including hitting Baldwin's prop gun several times with a “rawhide mallet.”
Ziegler said he used the rawhide mallet to hit the gun, as the hammer was withdrawn, from several directions. The tests were aimed at determining whether hitting or pushing the weapon would trigger a discharge. She said she was trying to simulate scenarios so that the gun would fire, without the handler pulling the trigger.
During that test he broke several components of the weapon. The fractured parts included the trigger tip, sear and hammer.
Hannah Gutierrez, left, with her attorney Jason Bowles, leaves New Mexico's First District Court last week after jury selection in her trial on involuntary manslaughter charges.
(Eddie Moore / Albuquerque Diary)
Ziegler said he was only able to get the gun to fire during two of the tests, even in the fully cocked hammer position. “Some of the internal components of the firearm were broken to allow the hammer to fall and fire the prepared cartridge case,” Ziegler said.
Baldwin's attorneys, through a spokesperson, declined to comment on the testimony.
Ziegler testified that the damage to the weapon occurred during its testing at the FBI laboratory.
“It was functioning normally when I received it,” Ziegler testified Monday. “As a result of the tests, it was damaged.”
Ziegler was one of three FBI experts who testified during Gutierrez's trial on Monday. The process was broadcast on Court TV.
“Rust” gun and ammunition supplier Seth Kenney testified during a deposition last year that the gun — an Italian-made pistol designed to look like an antique 1873 single-action revolver — was fully functional when he shipped it to production. Kenney has said he bought the gun for “Rust.”
But for prosecutors, the gun's fractured parts have raised vexing questions about the firearm's integrity. Special prosecutors separately hired an Arizona weapons expert to review broken parts, among other evidence, and determine whether the gun was defective during the production of “Rust.”
That expert, Lucien C. Haag, studied the weapon and rebuilt it with new parts. “The trigger had to be squeezed or depressed enough to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer from the test revolver,” Haag wrote in his August 2023 report.
Baldwin maintains that it was not his job to inspect the revolver to ensure that the bullets inside were “dummy” inert bullets. That position was affirmed by SAG-AFTRA, the artists' union that includes Baldwin. When Baldwin was given the gun, he was told it was “cold,” meaning it had no ammunition.
However, the gun contained five fake cartridges and one real bullet.
“Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a real bullet in the gun, or anywhere on the movie set,” his attorney Nikas previously said. “He trusted the professionals he worked with, who assured him that the gun had no live ammunition. We will fight these charges and we will win.”
Gutierrez, the gunsmith, told sheriff's investigators that she loaded the gun but thought all the bullets inside were fake. Special prosecutor Jason J. Lewis, in his opening statement, said last week that the trial would feature members of the “Rust” crew who would testify that Gutierrez was “careless” and “unprofessional.”
Gutierrez's attorney, Jason Bowles, disputed the characterization and said prosecutors and film producers were turning the young gunsmith into a “scapegoat” they sought to blame for Hutchins' tragic death. The film set had other problems, including a walkout by members of the camera crew.
“What you're seeing in this courtroom today is trying to blame everything on Hannah, the 24-year-old,” Bowles said during his opening statement Thursday. “Why? Because she's an easy target. She was the least powerful person on that set.”
Gutiérrez pleaded not guilty. His trial is expected to last until March 6.
