SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The lead detective in the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” is likely to be on the stand for most…
The lead detective in the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” is likely to be on the stand for most of Friday at Alec Baldwin ‘s involuntary manslaughter trial in New Mexico, as prosecutors try to cast the movie star as a reckless cavalier with a gun in his hand and the defense seeks to portray him as a working actor just doing his job.
Cpl. Alexandria Hancock of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office didn’t become the chief investigator until two weeks after the October 2021 shooting, but she conducted the first interviews of Baldwin, “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director David Halls, the three people criminally charged in the case.
Hancock was on the stand briefly at the end of the day Thursday and will continue her direct examination by the prosecution Friday before undergoing what’s likely to be a long cross-examination by the defense as they look to poke holes in an investigation they have suggested unfairly focused on Baldwin.
Before Hancock took the stand, Italian gunmaker Alessandro Pietta testified Thursday about quality control in the manufacturing process for the gun eventually acquired by an Albuquerque-based gun and ammunition supplier to “Rust” and handled by Baldwin in the fatal shooting. It was shipped in 2017, and Pietta last examined the gun in 2018 through a sales and distribution company.
The provenance of the gun, and its use for several years in trade shows, is under the microscope as defense attorneys raise concerns that the gun might have been modified or might otherwise discharge under some circumstances without a trigger pull.
Baldwin has claimed the gun fired accidentally after he followed instructions to point it toward Hutchins, who was behind the camera.
