SANTA FE, N.M. — Jurors in the trial of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed were shown text messages on Friday that indicated she was smoking marijuana the night before a fatal accident on set.
Prosecutors are building a case that Gutierrez Reed’s sloppiness and lack of professionalism led to the death of Halyna Hutchins, the film’s cinematographer.
In one text to a fellow crew member on Oct. 20, 2021, Gutierrez Reed wrote: “Right on, I might go smoke in the jacuzzi soon, but maybe not I’m so pooped.”
“Headed down to get high out back:b,” she wrote in an other message.
Later on, the crew member asked, “How’d the blaze sess go.” Gutierrez Reed wrote back: “I’m still smoking.”
In a pre-trial ruling, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer allowed the prosecution to introduce a limited number of text messages referencing drug use. The prosecution has argued that Gutierrez Reed was smoking marijuana while in possession of ammunition that was to be used on set.
Hutchins was killed when actor Alec Baldwin fired a live round during set-up for a scene on Oct. 21, 2021. The gun was supposed to contain only dummy rounds.
Six live rounds were found on the set, along with about 250 dummy rounds and nearly 1000 blanks.
On Thursday and Friday, the prosecution showed the jury dozens of photos of rounds recovered from the scene. The images showed a variety of different types of dummy rounds, some with holes in the side, and some that would rattle when shaken. Some of the rounds were in boxes, while others were loose inside a fanny pack or on a prop cart.
“There were multiple rounds of multiple caliber all over the top portion of this cart,” testified Marissa Poppell, an evidence technician for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
Source
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/rust-trial-armorers-texts-drug-use-1235920721/
