Who’s who at Alec Baldwin’s trial for the fatal shooting of a cinematographer

A dozen individuals had been inside a film set church the day Alec Baldwin shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza throughout a rehearsal for the Western movie “Rust.”

Now, nearly three years later and after numerous hearings and far authorized wrangling, Baldwin is standing trial on a cost of involuntary manslaughter. A few of those that had been contained in the church that fateful day in 2021 are anticipated to testify.

The witness checklist additionally contains quite a few investigators, firearms specialists and sure the movie’s armorer — who’s interesting a conviction for her function within the taking pictures.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of the movie, has claimed the gun fired unintentionally after he adopted directions to level it towards Hutchins, who was behind the digital camera. Unaware that it was loaded with a dwell spherical, he stated he pulled again the hammer — not the set off — and it fired.

Prosecutors plan to current proof that the gun’s set off needed to be pulled. They’ve stated Baldwin shares duty for what occurred that day.

Right here’s a have a look at the important thing gamers within the legal trial of an actor who has been a TV and film mainstay for many years:

THE DEFENDANT

ALEC BALDWIN — Identified for his roles within the early blockbuster “The Hunt for Purple October,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” and the sitcom “30 Rock,” Baldwin’s profession has spanned greater than 4 many years and has included different gun-toting roles. Baldwin has twice been charged in Hutchins’ loss of life. Prosecutors dismissed an earlier cost, then revived it by way of a grand jury after receiving a brand new evaluation of the revolver he pointed at Hutchins. An indictment alleges Baldwin brought on Hutchins’ loss of life — both by negligence or “complete disregard or indifference” for security. He has pleaded not responsible.

WITNESSES

HANNAH GUTIERREZ-REED — The stepdaughter of famend sharpshooter and weapons advisor Thell Reed, Gutierrez-Reed was 24 on the time of the lethal rehearsal. “Rust” was her second project as an armorer in a characteristic movie. Her attorneys argued that she was scapegoated, pointing to security considerations that went past their shopper. She was sentenced to 18 months in jail on an involuntary manslaughter conviction, which she’s interesting. At sentencing, Gutierrez-Reed stated she had tried to do her finest on the set regardless of not having “correct time, assets and staffing.”

DAVID HALLS — With credit together with “The Matrix Reloaded,” Halls had labored on dozens of movies over a 30-year profession. The assistant director and security coordinator pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor cost of negligent use of a lethal weapon and obtained a suspended sentence of six months of probation. It was realized after “Rust” producers halted work on the movie in 2021 that Halls had been fired from a earlier job after a gun went off on a set and wounded a member of the movie crew.

JOEL SOUZA — A director and author, Souza wrote the screenplay for “Rust.” Though he had labored on smaller tasks through the years, he made his characteristic debut in 2019 with “Crown Vic.” Baldwin was among the many producers on that mission, too, and had stated he was trying ahead to working with Souza on the western. Souza was wounded by the identical bullet that killed Hutchins. Souza testified beforehand he moved in behind Hutchins for a more in-depth have a look at the digital camera angle and by no means noticed the gun that shot him.

ROSS ADDIEGO — He was employed by Rust Productions as a front-line crew member who constructed and operated methods for guiding the movie’s digital camera. He was amongst these within the church the day Hutchins was killed. He and different crew members are suing the producers, claiming their failure to observe trade security guidelines induced emotional misery.

ZAC SNEESBY — A sound engineer and increase operator, Sneesby has labored on quite a few tasks, with “Stranger Issues” being amongst his most up-to-date work. He additionally has combined sound for the artwork collaborative Meow Wolf in Santa Fe. He stated in a current pretrial interview that he was standing very near Baldwin when the actor shot and killed Hutchins. He informed prosecutors he noticed Baldwin pull the set off.

LUCIEN HAAG — A firearms professional with a consulting firm based mostly in Arizona, Haag has been tapped to testify in quite a few legal circumstances on topics that embody firearms identification and the reconstruction of shootings. Prosecutors have recognized Haag and his son, Michael, as two of the nation’s main specialists on firearms forensics. The pair examined the gun that Baldwin was utilizing throughout the rehearsal.

PROSECUTORS

KARI MORRISSEY — A veteran lawyer whose expertise contains a whole bunch of trials, Morrissey took over as a particular prosecutor in March 2023. She has practiced regulation in New Mexico for greater than 20 years, having graduated from the College of New Mexico’s regulation faculty. Accused of being overzealous by Baldwin’s authorized workforce, Morrissey has not been one to again down throughout the many hearings main as much as the trial. All through her profession, her focus has included legal protection and civil rights-related circumstances.

ERLINDA JOHNSON — Becoming a member of the workforce lower than three months in the past, Johnson needed to be a fast examine. Her specialty has been legal protection and private harm. She was tapped in a high-profile public corruption case to defend former New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran, who resigned in 2015 amid revelations she used marketing campaign funds to gas a playing habit. Johnson additionally beforehand labored as a federal prosecutor on drug enforcement and arranged crime investigations after serving as an assistant district lawyer within the Albuquerque space.

BALDWIN’S ATTORNEYS

LUKE NIKAS — With a resume that boasts high billing on quite a few authorized MVP lists, Nikas is a graduate of Harvard Regulation College and a associate within the New York workplace of one of many world’s largest regulation corporations. When the fees had been first introduced towards Baldwin, Nikas referred to as it a miscarriage of justice, vowing his workforce would combat the fees and would win. He’s finest recognized for his work within the artwork world, having represented museums, galleries, public sale homes and collectors. He additionally has recovered artworks by Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso and led the protection in a forgery case that rocked New York’s artwork world.

ALEX SPIRO — A fellow Harvard grad and associate with Nikas at Quinn, Emanual, Urquhart & Sullivan, Spiro works on white collar and authorities enforcement circumstances in addition to sports activities and leisure litigation. He beforehand served as a Manhattan prosecutor, having a hand within the conviction of two infamous killers. His shopper checklist whereas in personal follow has included Elon Musk, Jay-Z and Robert Kraft, proprietor of the New England Patriots.

THE JUDGE

MARY MARLOWE SOMMER — Her decades-long profession has included work as a regulation clerk, a protection lawyer and a listening to officer who dealt with hundreds of circumstances involving home violence and household issues. In 2010, Marlowe Sommer was appointed to the First Judicial District Court docket by then-New Mexico Gov. Invoice Richardson. When sentencing Gutierrez-Reed in April, the decide informed the defendant that something lower than the utmost sentence wouldn’t be applicable, citing what she referred to as recklessness. If Gutierrez-Reed’s trial is any indication, Marlowe Sommer will maintain the attorneys on monitor and on schedule in what shall be a high-profile continuing.