quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Curious that we're just hearing of this now...

You may just be hearing this now, but it was a part of the original reporting when the FBI released its results back in August of 2022. Baldwin’s attorneys were the ones making the claim the gun broke while the FBI was testing it.

In fact, there’s a link to an article saying this at the top of page 57 of this very thread.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Curious that we're just hearing of this now...

You may just be hearing this now, but it was a part of the original reporting when the FBI released its results back in August of 2022. Baldwin’s attorneys were the ones making the claim the gun broke while the FBI was testing it.

Exactly. Baldwin's attorneys are claiming...

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
In fact, there’s a link to an article saying this at the top of page 57 of this very thread.

Here's the relevant quote:

quote:

"The FBI report is being misconstrued," the statement continued. "The gun fired in testing only one time -- without having to pull the trigger -- when the hammer was pulled back and the gun broke in two different places. The FBI was unable to fire the gun in any prior test, even when pulling the trigger, because it was in such poor condition."

They're not claiming the FBI broke the gun in testing, but, that the gun was broken and they had to repair it for testing.

Does that sound like a reasonable forensic examination scenario? Even for today's FBI?

quote:

Does that sound like a reasonable forensic examination scenario? Even for today's FBI?

The way you framed the question? Yep. Absolutely sounds like what the FEEBS would call reasonable today.

Rust' Weapons Supervisor Charged With Dumping Drugs On Day Of Alec Baldwin Shooting

Story by ANDREW DALTON / AP • 37m ago

This aerial photo shows the movie set of "Rust," at Bonanza Creek Ranch, Oct. 23, 2021, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The weapons supervisor charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a cinematographer on the New Mexico set of the Alec Baldwin film “Rust” was charged Thursday with evidence tampering for allegedly passing drugs to someone else on the day of the shooting.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed “did transfer narcotics to another person with the intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of herself,” the special prosecutors appointed in the case said in a Santa Fe County court filing. They gave no further details.

Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney Jason Bowles called the move “retaliatory and vindictive.”

“It is shocking that after 20 months of investigation, the special prosecutor now throws in a completely new charge against Ms. Gutierrez Reed, with no prior notice or any witness statements, lab reports, or evidence to support it,” Bowles said in a statement.

Gutierrez-Reed is the sole remaining defendant in the case after prosecutors in April dropped an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, who was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killed her and injured director Joel Souza on Oct. 21, 2021. Prosecutors can still refile charges against Baldwin.

The new charge comes a week after prosecutors alleged in a court filing that Gutierrez-Reed was drinking and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the filming of “Rust” and was likely hungover on the day a live bullet was placed into the gun Baldwin used.

Bowles called that allegation “character assassination” from prosecutors with a weak case that the defense has asked a judge to dismiss.

In his own filing Thursday, Bowles revealed that he had been accidentally included on an email to District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies from her lead investigator in the case, who slammed the law enforcement response to the shooting.

“The conduct of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office during and after their initial investigation is reprehensible and unprofessional to a degree I still have no words for,” Robert Schilling wrote in the email, in which he said he will be stepping down so special prosecutors can use their own investigator. “Not I or 200 more proficient investigators than I can/could clean up the mess delivered to your office.”

Bowles said in his filing that the email demonstrates the weakness of the case against his client. He said it suggests that the prosecution has been withholding evidence from the defense.

Emails seeking comment from the Sheriff’s Office and the special prosecutors were not immediately returned.

Obligatory Linkage

^^ So they hired a junkie as an Armorer. Wonderful

OK, we'll know by August 10 whether Baldwin will face new charges...

"VIDEO: New special prosecutor said the gun Alec Baldwin used will be independently tested. If it’s not malfunctioning, Baldwin will be charged again. (8/4/23)"



Newsbreak

Good grief. What a cluster fuck.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Good grief. What a cluster fuck.

Exactly, you watch, that no good cocksucker will go scott free. Makes me want to puke.

I'd prefer to think that this test will end up being one more nail in his coffin.

I understood that the gun was damaged while being tested. Is that the case?

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
I understood that the gun was damaged while being tested. Is that the case?

The FBI reported that some damage was done to the gun's internal components during testing. Alec Baldwin's lawyers claim the gun was completely destroyed and cannot be used as evidence, a statement that has been thoroughly refuted by the DA, who said the gun still exists, can be examined, and can be submitted as evidence.

Seems the new prosecutor is saying that the gun will be tested again and if not malfunctioning, Baldwin will be charged again. If the gun was damaged by the FBI, that could cause a malfunction and Baldwin skates….

Yep, they're putting way too much emphasis on the gun, and not on the unsafe way the gun was handled.

https://www.foxnews.com/entert...ms-he-pulled-trigger

A new report concluded that despite his denials, Alec Baldwin had to pull the trigger of the gun that fired on the set of "Rust" in October 2021.

As the film's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed gears up for her scheduled December trial, her legal team focused on a new report from independent forensic firearm experts. Lucien Haag and Mike Haag, who were commissioned by the prosecution, concluded that Baldwin had to pull the trigger of the gun in order for it to fire.

"The gun and broken sear have been sent to the state’s independent expert for further testing. The charges against Alec Baldwin were dismissed without prejudice because a possible malfunction of the gun significantly effects causation with regard to Baldwin, not with regard to Gutierrez," the documents read. "If it is determined that the gun did not malfunction, charges against Mr. Baldwin will proceed."

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that new charges against Baldwin are being "considered," but a "final decision" has yet to be made.

more

https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/...ng-had-to-be-pulled/

The report was filed as part of a defense motion on behalf of the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who is charged with tampering with the gun used in the shooting as well as two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

"If the hammer had not been fully retracted to the rear and were to slip from the handler's thumb without the trigger depressed, the half cock or quarter cock notches in the hammer should have prevented the firing pin from reaching any cartridge in the firing chamber," it reads.

The weapon was inoperable when Forensic Science Services received it after being broken during tests ran by the FBI, when it was returned to operable condition. "From an examination of the fired cartridge case and the operationally restored evidence revolver, this fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger," the report said.

"The only conceivable alternative to the foregoing would be a situation in which the trigger was already pulled or held rearward while retracting the hammer to its full cock position. Although unlikely and totally contrary to the normal operation of these single action revolvers, such improper handling, would result in the discharge of a live cartridge," it added.

Investigators have not determined how and why live rounds were on the set of the movie.

Well, at least Baldwin can start his "sweat cycle" again......I am happy to say.

Once more deadlines seem to have been pushed back. "Any day now...".

Alec Baldwin Reportedly ‘Worried Sick’ He Will Face New Charges For ‘Rust’ Shooting
Kristin Myers
Tue, August 29, 2023 at 7:45 AM PDT

Actor Alec Baldwin is reportedly worried that he will have to face criminal charges for the October 2021 shooting of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

The 65-year-old actor was holding a prop Colt revolver for a scene when it went off, killing Hutchins and hospitalizing director Joel Souza. "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter after live ammunition was found in the gun the "30 Rock" actor was holding. In June 2023, she was charged with tampering with evidence after prosecutors claimed that she gave a bag of cocaine to another individual on the day that Hutchins died, hindering the police investigation into her death. Her trial has been postponed to early 2024.

Baldwin had also been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, but those charges were dropped without prejudice in April, meaning that charges could be refiled at any time. In early June, special prosecutors indicated that they would decide whether or not to press charges within sixty days. However, those sixty days are nearing their end, meaning that Baldwin could be charged again any day now.

Yahoo News

Well, good

I see Yahoo news is using language to mitigate Baldwin’s culpability. The gun just went off. It was a prop gun etc. the Left is shameless.

Below from Santa Fe newspaper.
....................


Expert report concludes trigger on gun in ‘Rust’ shooting was pulled
By Phaedra Haywood phaywood@sfnewmexican.com Aug 15, 2023 Updated Aug 16, 2023


A forensic firearms examiner hired by the state to evaluate the condition and functioning of the revolver involved in the 2021 fatal shooting death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins has determined the weapon could not have fired without the trigger being pulled.

The report could have implications for the film’s star and producer Alec Baldwin, who was holding the gun when it discharged a live round on a movie set south of Santa Fe, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

“Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver,” forensic firearms examiner Lucien C. Haag wrote in his report, which was attached to a motion filed Tuesday by defense attorneys for the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

“If the hammer had not been fully retracted to the rear, and were to slip from the handler’s thumb without the trigger depressed, the half cock or quarter cock notches in the hammer should have prevented the firing pin from reaching any cartridge in the firing chamber,” according to the report.

The report also concludes the bullet that killed Hutchins and wounded Souza was similar to five other live rounds investigators recovered from various locations on the Rust set and “dissimilar” to bullets and ammunition obtained PDQ Arm and Prop owner Seth Kenney, who supplied some weapons and ammunition for the film.

Baldwin told ABC News in December 2021 — a little more than a month after the shooting — he didn’t pull the trigger on firearm used in the scene, described in the report as an Italian-made “facsimile” of a Colt 1873 single-action revolver.

Prosecutors charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the case in January 2023, contending an FBI ballistics report had determined the gun could not have fired without the trigger being pulled. They dismissed the fourth-degree felony charge “without prejudice” in April, cited a need to conduct more investigation.

Special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis in April held open the possibility the case could be refiled.

A source close to the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The New Mexican in April the dismissal was related to “new evidence” which centered on the revolver.

The weapon had at some point been fitted with a new hammer, calling into question the FBI’s previous conclusion the weapon could not have fired without the trigger being pulled, the source said.

In a June motion filed in the case against Gutierrez-Reed, prosecutors wrote charges against Baldwin were dismissed without prejudice “because a possible malfunction of the gun significantly affects causation with regard to Baldwin, not with regard to Gutierrez. If it is determined that the gun did not malfunction, charges against Mr. Baldwin will proceed. The prosecution anticipates making a final charging decision with regard to Mr. Baldwin within the next sixty days.”

Sixty-seven days have elapsed since the filing of that motion, and according to online court records no new charges have been filed against Baldwin since.

Morrissey declined to comment Tuesday when asked whether the state had made a decision on whether to charge Baldwin. The actor’s legal firm did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The forensic report was attached to a motion filed Tuesday by Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney’s Jason Bowles and Todd Bullion, asking the court to approve certain jury instructions ahead of trial in the case, which has been set to take place in December.

The motion asks the court to instruct jurors that in order to find Gutierrez-Reed guilty they need to determine her actions were a “significant cause of death ... without which the death would not have occurred.”

The motion also asks the court to instruct the jurors they must consider whether “the negligence of a person other than the defendant may have contributed to the cause of death.”

In the motion, the attorneys say evidence at trial will show Gutierrez-Reed was outside the church where the shooting occurred and “had asked [Assistant Director Dave Halls] to be called back into the church if Baldwin was going to use the gun at all.”

Halls — who accepted the revolver from Gutierrez-Reed prior to the shooting and announced it was a “cold gun,” or safe, before handing it to Baldwin — pleaded no contest in March to negligent use of a deadly weapon as part of an agreement with prosecutors that calls for him to serve six months on unsupervised probation and to cooperate in the prosecution of the others.

The report includes still images of videos taken leading up to the shooting, which shows “Baldwin cocking the silver-colored hammer of a long barreled revolver with his right index finger ending up on or near the trigger.”


https://www.santafenewmexican....25-7f33fb93a3ce.html

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