Trial begins Wednesday for ‘Rust’ armorer Hannah Gutierrez
More than two years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the New Mexico set of Rust, the film’s weapons handler is set to go on trial in the high-profile case.
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the October 2021 on-set death. She faces an additional charge of tampering with evidence, with state prosecutors claiming she handed off a small bag of cocaine following her interview with police the day of the shooting.
Gutierrez has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. She has not been charged with any drug offenses.
Actor Alec Baldwin, who was practicing a cross-draw with a Western-style Colt .45 revolver when the gun fired a live bullet that struck Hutchins, was also recently re-charged with involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors initially dropped the case. Baldwin has pleaded not guilty.
Jury selection in Gutierrez’s case is scheduled to begin Wednesday in Santa Fe County after the judge denied the defense’s latest effort to dismiss the charges.
Jury selection could be challenging for such a high-profile case, Kate Mangels, a partner at Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir LLP in Los Angeles, told ABC News.
Potential jurors knowing general information about the case wouldn’t be enough to disqualify them, she said. But both the prosecution and defense will “pay very close attention in jury selection to make sure no one ends up on the jury who already has feelings about this.”
Potential jurors’ opinions about firearms and drug use could also factor in, she said.
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