‘Rust’ Armorer Was “Negligent ..Careless ..Thoughtless,” Prosecution Declares In Involuntary Manslaughter Trial Closing Argument; Alec Baldwin’s “Prima Donna” Conduct On Set Part Of Defense’s “Shotgun Approach”

deadline.com:

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had  a  “complete lack of understanding of her role of safety on this movie set,” declared the prosecution in their closing argument today in the Rust’s armorer’s involuntary manslaughter trial for the fatal October 21, 20201 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. “Her entire job is to be responsible for exactly that,” stressed special prosecutor Kerri Morrissey in a presentation full of grimy evidence as props and photos of guns on the New Mexico set of the Alec Baldwin starring indie Western. “She was negligent, she was careless, she was thoughtless.” Asking the jury to “take a walk in the weeds with me,” Morrissey laid out in detail what she termed “a mountain of circumstantial evidence” that backs up the prosecution’s case that Gutierrez-Reed was ultimately responsible for live rounds getting on the Rust set.

Dismissing the defense’s theory that ammunition supplier Seth Kenney was the source of the bullets that killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza as “dishonest,” the special prosecutor later said that any sabotage notions were “absolutely nonsense.”   “This is all smoke and mirrors and deflection, they don’t want the truth.” Charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering, Gutierrez-Reed faces up to three years in state prison if found guilty.

In opening statements on February 22, the relatively inexperienced Gutierrez-Reed was called “sloppy” by prosecutors and a “scapegoat” by her defense team.

With closing arguments up next from the defense, the case could go to the jury by the end of today. Noting Gutierrez-Reed’s previous gig as an armorer on the Nicholas Cage flick The Old Way and the involvement of her stepdad veteran film gun coach Thell Reed in her