Rust armorer called “unprofessional and sloppy” as trial begins, defense argues she’s a “scapegoat”

The high-profile trial of Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed began today, and as predicted given some of the information going around Hollywood after the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021, the opening statement from the prosecution was largely based around allegations that Gutierrez-Reed was “negligent” in her dudes and behaved in an “unprofessional and sloppy” in the lead-up to the shooting—wherein a gun held by producer/star Alec Baldwin unexpectedly went off after being loaded with a live round (the origin of which remains unknown). Baldwin is also facing charges related to Hutchins’ death.

This comes from Deadline, which says that prosecutors explained that they will introduce testimony about how Gutierrez-Reed allegedly “routinely left guns and ammunition lying around the set unattended and that her gun safe and ammo cart were constantly disorganized. The Deadline story also mentions that Gutierrez-Reed received evidence tampering charges (in addition to existing involuntary manslaughter charges) after refusing to take a plea deal that would’ve required her to give more information about how live ammo got onto the Rust set (in their opening statement, prosecutors said that they will also share evidence that supposedly shows that Gutierrez-Reed brought the live rounds to set “when she came to New Mexico from out of state.”

Gutierrez-Reed’s defense, meanwhile, argued that she’s being set up as a “scapegoat” for Hutchins’ death, noting that, “just because there was a tragedy doesn’t mean a crime was committed.” Echoing a point made by The Hollywood Reporter’s Rebecca Keegan last week, the defense argued that “they are trying to blame it all on Hannah” because “she is an easy target” and was the “least powerful person on that set.”

Rather than Gutierrez-Reed, then, the defense suggests that the blame falls on the producers, namely Baldwin, who “really controlled the set” and “violated some of the most basic gun safety rules you can ever learn” for the sake of profit. The defense also noted OSHA reports that pinned the blame on producers and highlighted the stories of crew members leaving Rust because of safety concerns, intending to show that there were problems on the set that could not possibly be blamed solely on Gutierrez-Reed.

The trial is expected to continue through early March, with the first witnesses being called this afternoon.