SANTA FE, N.M. — “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed informed detectives that she introduced dummy rounds to set that have been left over from a earlier movie, and that had been free in a bag in her automotive.

Gutierrez Reed is on trial for involuntary manslaughter within the demise of Halyna Hutchins, who was killed by a dwell spherical fired from Alec Baldwin‘s gun. Prosecutors have alleged that Gutierrez Reed was liable for bringing a field of dummies that included a number of dwell rounds.

On Tuesday, jurors have been proven a police interview from November 2021, during which Gutierrez Reed stated that she had used dummies on “Rust” that have been left over from “The Outdated Means,” a Nicolas Cage movie she had labored on just a few weeks earlier.

“I went again by means of a bag that I had,” Gutierrez Reed stated within the interview. “This bag had a bunch of free dummies in it. I went by means of and I checked all of them, and I put them into two packing containers… They have been in my automotive for like two weeks.”

Gutierrez Reed loaded Baldwin’s gun — which was purported to comprise solely dummy rounds — and didn’t discover that she loaded a dwell spherical.

Later within the interview, Gutierrez Reed described her course of for checking to be sure that rounds are dummies. Most dummies on the set rattled when shaken — a security function indicating that they may not be fired.

“I’m shaking all of them more often than not,” Gutierrez Reed stated.

Prosecutor Kari Morrissey underscored that remark — “more often than not” — for the jury.

To show involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors must present past an inexpensive doubt that Gutierrez Reed acted with “willful disregard for the protection of others.” If convicted, she faces as much as 18 months in jail.

The protection has maintained that Gutierrez Reed was not liable for bringing the dwell bullets on set, and has as a substitute pointed the finger at Seth Kenney, who provided weapons and ammo to the manufacturing. Kenney is anticipated to testify subsequent week.

The protection can be anticipated to placed on its case subsequent week. In his opening assertion, protection lawyer Jason Bowles argued that Gutierrez Reed has been made a “scapegoat” for quite a few errors made by the manufacturing, Baldwin, and others.

Prosecutors have argued that Gutierrez Reed was unprofessional, usually leaving weapons and ammunition unsecured and ignoring business security protocols.

The jury was proven an earlier police interview on Tuesday, carried out the day of the capturing, at which Gutierrez Reed didn’t have her lawyer current. She initially indicated that she “ought to in all probability” have a lawyer, however later agreed to reply some primary questions.

In that interview, she acknowledged that one of many dummy packing containers “may need some wonky ones in it.”

The detectives confirmed Gutierrez Reed a photograph of the lead bullet that had been faraway from the shoulder of Joel Souza, the movie’s director. She didn’t establish it as a bullet, saying at first that it seemed to be a clean.

“They’re pondering it may very well be a dwell spherical,” a detective informed her.

“Holy fuck,” she responded.

The jury additionally noticed bodycam video from the scene, taken shortly after the capturing, during which Gutierrez Reed appeared shocked and despondent.

The armorer, who was 24 on the time, was seen strolling with a detective to the lavatory trailer on the Western set.

“Welcome to the worst day of my life,” she stated. Later, Gutierrez Reed requested to be put someplace away from the opposite crew, saying she didn’t wish to be seen by her co-workers.

“I already really feel tremendous dangerous,” she stated. “I simply wish to get the fuck out of right here and by no means present my face on this business once more.”

On Tuesday morning, the jurors noticed graphic images from Hutchins’ post-mortem. The photographs confirmed a bullet wound in Hutchins’ proper armpit, and a big exit wound in her again. When the pictures displayed on a pc display on the protection desk, Gutierrez Reed turned visibly distressed. She seemed away, held the bridge of her nostril, after which leaned again to look towards the ceiling.

Heather Jarrell, the state’s medical investigator, testified that the bullet punctured Hutchins’ proper lung — a deadly wound — and went by means of her spinal wire.

The jury additionally heard from Lucien Haag, a veteran firearms skilled who analyzed Baldwin’s Colt .45 and the ammunition for the prosecutors.

Haag testified that the gun was working correctly earlier than it was despatched to the FBI for evaluation. In the midst of the FBI testing, an examiner struck the gun with a mallet to see if it might by chance hearth when sufficient drive was utilized. The testing broke three parts of the gun.

On cross-examination, Haag additionally testified that the dwell rounds on set seemed to be “hand loaded” — that’s, made by a person by hand, relatively than by a business producer.

Baldwin is ready to face a trial in July on involuntary manslaughter fees. He has maintained that he didn’t pull the set off, and his protection workforce has raised the query of whether or not the gun was working correctly on the time of the capturing. Baldwin’s protection has additionally faulted the FBI for breaking the gun.

Baldwin’s native lawyer, Heather LeBlanc, was within the viewers to witness Tuesday’s testimony, getting a preview of the gun proof that may possible play a extra vital position at his trial.

Gutierrez Reed’s attorneys don’t dispute that the gun was functioning correctly. Her protection has blamed Baldwin for negligently pulling the set off whereas pointing it at Hutchins.