New Mexico judge weighs whether to compel testimony from movie armorer in Alec Baldwin trial

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico judge is scheduled to consider at a Friday hearing whether to compel a movie set armorer to testify at actor Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial for the fatal shooting nearly three years ago of a cinematographer during rehearsal for the Western movie “Rust.”

Prosecutors are seeking a court order for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to testify with immunity for her against related prosecution. Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March of involuntary manslaughter for her role in the shooting of Halyna Hutchins at a movie-set ranch.

Baldwin figured prominently at that previous trial, which highlighted gun-safety protocols and his authority as a co-producer and the lead actor on “Rust.”

“The jury should hear all of the information Ms. Gutierrez has regarding Mr. Baldwin, both exculpatory and inculpatory,” special prosecutors Mari Morrissey and Erlinda Johnson said in court filings. “Counsel for both sides should be permitted to fully cross-examine Ms. Gutierrez.”

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed both oppose efforts to compel her testimony.

At a pretrial interview in May, Gutierrez-Reed exercised her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to answer questions. Her attorneys say compelling her to testify, even with immunity, would “virtually eliminate” the possibility of a fair appeal and possible retrial. She also is fighting a separate charge of carrying a firearm into a Santa Fe bar weeks before the fatal shooting.

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