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Weapons expert in 'Rust' film set shooting case was hungover on set, prosecutors say

Weapons expert in 'Rust' film set shooting case was hungover on set, prosecutors say
THE TOTAL AMOUNT MORE THAN $2 MILLION. WELL, THIS AFTERNOON, A NEW MOTION FILED IN THE RUST CASE ON BEHALF OF ARMORER HANNAH GUTIERREZ-REED ACTION 7 NEWS REPORTER JOHN CARNELL IS HERE TO SHOW US WHAT THE ATTORNEY IS ASKING FOR. WELL, SHOWING DOUG, THE MOTION FILED IS ASKING THAT ALL CHARGES BE DROPPED AGAINST GUTIERREZ-REED IN THE CASE. AND KOAT LEGAL EXPERT JOHN DAY SAYS THE ARGUMENT IS QUITE UNIQUE. IS IMPROPER. IT’S AN INTERESTING ARGUMENT AND I THINK IT’S GOING TO THIS JUDGE IS GOING TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO IT. THAT’S KOAT LEGAL EXPERT JOHN DAY’S REACTION TO THIS MOTION FILED BY ATTORNEY JASON BOLES TODAY ON BEHALF OF HIS CLIENT RUST ARMOR HANNAH GUTIERREZ-REED. THE JUDGE IS GOING TO LOOK AT THIS MOTION VERY CAREFULLY. AND AGAIN, THIS IS AN EXTENSION OF THE BASICALLY THE ARGUMENT THE JUDGE MADE WHEN SHE MADE HER RULING, TAKING MARY CARMACK WEISS OFF THE CASE. SO WHAT’S THE ARGUMENT FOR CHARGES BEING DISMISSED? THE LAWYERS FOR HANNAH GUTIERREZ-REED ARE TAKING THE JUDGE’S STATEMENTS AND TURNING THAT INTO AN ARGUMENT FOR THEIR SIDE THAT SAYS THE DA COULDN’T PARTICIPATE IN THE CASE, THAT ANYTHING SHE DID ONCE SHE MADE THE APPOINTMENT WAY BACK WHEN WAS IMPROPER. GUTIERREZ REED’S LEGAL COUNSEL, IS ALSO ASKING FOR THE CASE TO BE DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, MEANING IT COULDN’T BE REFILED AGAIN. SO IT’S GOING TO BE REALLY INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT THE JUDGE SAYS AND IF THE CHARGES ARE DROPPED AGAINST GUTIERREZ-REED THAT WOULD LEAVE DAVE HALLS AS THE ONLY PERSON WITH THE CHARGE IN THE CASE. YOU’LL REMEMBER HE REACHED A PLEA AGREEMENT EARLY ON. I’M JOHN CARNELL REPORTING KOAT ACTION SEVEN NEWS. ALSO MENTIONED THE MOTION INTERVIEW IS DONE WITH MARY CARMACK TWICE AND STATEMENT
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Weapons expert in 'Rust' film set shooting case was hungover on set, prosecutors say
The weapons supervisor on the film set where Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer was drinking and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the filming of ā€œRust,ā€ prosecutors are alleging, saying she was likely hungover when she loaded a live bullet into the revolver that the actor used.They leveled the accusations Friday in response to a motion filed last month by Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys that seeks to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter charge. The prosecutors accused her of having a history of reckless conduct and argued that it would be in the public interest for her to ā€œfinally be held accountable.ā€Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, said Tuesday that the prosecution has mishandled the case.ā€œThe case is so weak that they now have chosen to resort to character assassination claims about Hannah,ā€ Bowles told The Associated Press. ā€œThe prosecution has abandoned the idea of doing justice and getting to the actual truth apparently.ā€A preliminary hearing for Gutierrez-Reed is scheduled in August. A judge is expected to decide then if there’s probable cause for Gutierrez-Reed’s charge to move forward.In the response, the prosecutors also noted that they expected to decide within the next 60 days whether to recharge Baldwin, depending on the results of an analysis of the gun and its broken sear. The items were sent to the state’s independent expert for further testing.Video below: Investigation into the 'Rust' movie shootingThe involuntary manslaughter charge faced by Baldwin, who also was a producer on the film, was dismissed in April, with prosecutors citing new evidence and the need for more time to investigate. Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the New Mexico film set in October 2021 when it went off, killing her and wounding the film’s director, Joel Souza.Gutierrez-Reed's attorneys had argued in their motion that the prosecution was ā€œtainted by improper political motivesā€ and that Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and the initial special prosecutor she appointed, Andrea Reeb, ā€œboth used the tragic film set accident that resulted in the death of Halyna Hutchins as an opportunity to advance their personal interests.ā€The defense lawyers contend that the permanent damage done to the gun by FBI testing before the defense could examine it amounted to destruction of evidence and a violation of the court’s rules of discovery. They also argued that the ā€œselective prosecutionā€ of Gutierrez-Reed was a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.New special prosecutors who were appointed after Reeb stepped down disputed those claims in their response, saying ā€œnothing about this prosecution has or will be selective.ā€The prosecutors also acknowledged the unanswered question of where the live rounds found on set came from, saying they were trying to find out and that the investigation was ongoing. They also suggested there was evidence to support the theory that Gutierrez-Reed herself may be responsible and if so, more charges may follow.They offered no specifics in the filing as to what that evidence might be.

The weapons supervisor on the film set where Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer was drinking and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the filming of ā€œRust,ā€ prosecutors are alleging, saying she was likely hungover when she loaded a live bullet into the revolver that the actor used.

They leveled the accusations Friday in response to a motion filed last month by Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys that seeks to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter charge. The prosecutors accused her of having a history of reckless conduct and argued that it would be in the public interest for her to ā€œfinally be held accountable.ā€

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Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, said Tuesday that the prosecution has mishandled the case.

ā€œThe case is so weak that they now have chosen to resort to character assassination claims about Hannah,ā€ Bowles told The Associated Press. ā€œThe prosecution has abandoned the idea of doing justice and getting to the actual truth apparently.ā€

A preliminary hearing for Gutierrez-Reed is scheduled in August. A judge is expected to decide then if there’s probable cause for Gutierrez-Reed’s charge to move forward.

In the response, the prosecutors also noted that they expected to decide within the next 60 days whether to recharge Baldwin, depending on the results of an analysis of the gun and its broken sear. The items were sent to the state’s independent expert for further testing.

Video below: Investigation into the 'Rust' movie shooting

The involuntary manslaughter charge faced by Baldwin, who also was a producer on the film, was dismissed in April, with prosecutors citing new evidence and the need for more time to investigate.

Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the New Mexico film set in October 2021 when it went off, killing her and wounding the film’s director, Joel Souza.

Gutierrez-Reed's attorneys had argued in their motion that the prosecution was ā€œtainted by improper political motivesā€ and that Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and the initial special prosecutor she appointed, Andrea Reeb, ā€œboth used the tragic film set accident that resulted in the death of Halyna Hutchins as an opportunity to advance their personal interests.ā€

The defense lawyers contend that the permanent damage done to the gun by FBI testing before the defense could examine it amounted to destruction of evidence and a violation of the court’s rules of discovery. They also argued that the ā€œselective prosecutionā€ of Gutierrez-Reed was a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

New special prosecutors who were appointed after Reeb stepped down disputed those claims in their response, saying ā€œnothing about this prosecution has or will be selective.ā€

The prosecutors also acknowledged the unanswered question of where the live rounds found on set came from, saying they were trying to find out and that the investigation was ongoing. They also suggested there was evidence to support the theory that Gutierrez-Reed herself may be responsible and if so, more charges may follow.

They offered no specifics in the filing as to what that evidence might be.