Armorer’s trial gets combustible
Witness near ‘Rust’ shooting delivers emotional testimony; firearm experts share results
Acrew member on the Rust film set who was standing feet away when a bullet struck and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins broke down on the witness stand Monday.
It was one of the most explosive days of testimony so far in the involuntary manslaughter trial for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, which began last week in state District Court in Santa Fe.
Ross Addiego, who has a pending lawsuit against actor and producer Alec Baldwin and the film’s production company over the October 2021 shooting, had operated a camera dolly.
He told jurors he had the lens within a foot of Baldwin when the actor’s revolver discharged the fatal shot. He was standing “shoulder to shoulder” with director Joel Souza, who was injured by the bullet that struck Hutchins.
Baldwin had already drawn the weapon once, as part of a scene in which his character was set to make a “last stand” against law enforcement officers, Addiego said.
“And then he drew it again and it went off,” he added.
The fire alarm in the makeshift church where the scene was being filmed instantly began to sound, Addiego said.
“So the concussion, ears ringing, that moment of panic in everybody. I think the first person I made eye contact with was Halyna, who was clearly injured,” he said, his voice breaking.
“She was starting to go flush and holding her right side and ... Joel let out some sort of scream . ... My attention went to Joel because because he was the closest to me.”
He started attending to Souza, he said, and yelled out, “If you can’t help us get the [expletive] out of here and someone call 911.’ “
Realizing Souza had been shot, he “started pulling back his hoodie to reveal what appeared to be a circular wound in his right shoulder,” Addiego said.
Someone used shears to cut away Souza’s clothing, he said.
“I helped roll him over, and I was in a position to see what appeared to be a bullet just under the skin, basically where his right shoulder blade was,” Addiego testified.
The medic gave him some gauze, he said, so he could apply pressure to the wound.
Baldwin sat down in a pew after the incident, Addiego said, but the next time he looked up, Baldwin was gone.
Addiego said the Rust set was different from others he’d worked on, in part because the crew was being
pushed to work at a “ludicrous speed” to complete the film in a short time frame.
Typically he said, assistant directors hold daily safety meetings when the armorer might speak about any anticipated firing of dummy rounds or blanks to “give us some indication as to the potential danger.”
He was invited to only one safety meeting during the two weeks he worked on Rust ,he said.
Armorers are usually “the most uptight” of all the people on a set, Addiego said, “because they literally have people’s lives in their hands.”
“Most of them, in my experience, seem to be either former military or law enforcement and have some kind of background in firearms,” he said.
Gutierrez-Reed, now 26, “wasn’t necessarily as serious or professional as I’m accustomed to with the other armorers that I’ve worked with,” he added.
He recalled walking by her prop cart and seeing firearms and bandoliers, or ammo belts, left out and unsecured.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an armorer pull loose ammo out of a fanny pack,” he said.
Addiego said two accidental discharges — one by prop master Sarah Zachry and another by a stunt double for Baldwin — were never reported to the crew.
When Addiego spoke to assistant director David Halls about his “frustration and anger with the fact that safety seemed to be secondary to the production clock,” he said, “Mr. Halls ignored me and walked away.”
Halls, who pleaded no contest last year to a charge of negligent use of a firearm, is expected to testify later this week.
While cross-examining Addiego, Gutierrez-Reed’s defense attorney Jason Bowles implied the witness wasn’t used to seeing a young woman as an armorer.
Bowles asked Addiego whether he’d stood up to Baldwin or pushed back about being rushed.
“It was your perception nobody was going to stand up to him, wasn’t it?” Bowles asked.
“Correct,” Addiego answered.
“So wouldn’t you find it difficult for a 24-year-old female armorer ... with everybody else — grown men — not standing up to Mr. Baldwin, wouldn’t you find that difficult for her also?” the attorney asked.
“I wasn’t in her position,” Addiego responded.
Bowles asked why Addiego was suing Baldwin and the production company but not Gutierrez-Reed, and inquired about the basis for his claim — that he suffered a “blast injury” during the incident.
“Are you hoping that you can come in and testify here today and if something happens to Ms. Gutierrez-Reed ... it will help your lawsuit?” Bowles asked.
“I’m hoping for justice, sir,” Addiego answered. “Two people were injured on a film set that has not only affected me, that has affected the film industry.”
“And you want money for that?” Bowles asked.
“I want justice,” Addiego said. Jurors also heard from several FBI experts Monday, including one who said he believed the revolver would not have fired under normal conditions unless the person handling it had manually cocked it and pulled the trigger.
Baldwin, also charged with involuntary manslaughter, has said he didn’t pull the trigger.
However, Bryce Ziegler said he examined the gun and found it had safety features — which he described as quarter-cock and half-cock notches — designed to keep the hammer from falling if the shooter’s thumb slipped off it accidentally.
He noted the gun’s instruction manual warned an accidental misfire might be possible if the gun was dropped while fully loaded because the hammer would be resting on the primer of a bullet. The manual recommended leaving one chamber blank to guard against that.
Ziegler said he didn’t conduct a drop test on the gun but was twice able to get it to fire without the trigger being pulled while conducting “accidental discharge” testing. He used a mallet to strike the weapon in various places, he said.
He suspected the gun fired only because he had damaged it during the testing process, he said.
Under cross examination, Ziegler admitted he only assumed the internal damage he noted inside the weapon had been caused by testing because he disassembled it — and discovered the damage — after the test.
In a puzzling twist in the case Monday, there was an apparent shake-up of Gutierrez-Reed’s defense team.
Attorney Monnica Barreras filed a notice she will be representing the defendant, and co-counsel Todd Bullion, who has been working on the case for more than a year, asked to be allowed to withdraw, according to an order filed during the lunch break.
Presiding Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer denied Bullion’s request.
“However, to avoid potential disruptions at trial, Mr. Bullion shall refrain from directly communicating with Defendant Gutierrez as requested by Defendant,” the order states.
“Lead attorney Mr. Jason Bowles shall direct and coordinate co-counsel Mr. Bullion’s and co-counsel Ms. Barreras’s respective participation in the trial, if any,” it continues.
Bowles and Bullion both declined to comment Monday.
Baldwin, who has entered a plea of not guilty, faces a trial in early July. Sommer issued a scheduling order Monday.
The trial is expected to last eight days, beginning July 10, with jury selection scheduled July 9.
The deadline for a potential plea deal in Baldwin’s case is June 24.
Gutierrez-Reed’s trial will resume Tuesday and is expected to continue into next week.