'Rust' trial for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed begins: Everything you need to know

The trial of "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, is officially underway.

Opening statements in Gutierrez-Reed's trial began on Thursday in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with prosecutors hoping to finally secure a conviction. Some participants in the "Rust" tragedy have struck plea bargains, and a past charge against actor and producer Alec Baldwin was suddenly dropped. Baldwin was re-charged by prosecutors in January; his trial is expected to take place this summer.

Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintains she's not directly to blame for Hutchins' death. Prosecutors will argue Gutierrez-Reed was to blame for live ammunition ending up in a prop gun that discharged during rehearsal on Oct. 21, 2021, killing Hutchins. Defense attorneys will argue that Baldwin oversaw a sloppy set that led to the accidental death.

Here's everything you need to know.

Prosecutors accuse Hannah Gutierrez-Reed of 'sloppy' conduct, defense blames production

In an opening statement on Thursday, prosecutor Jason Lewis accused Gutierrez-Reed of engaging in "unprofessional and sloppy" conduct on the "Rust" set, alleging that the "decisions she made that day ultimately contributed to Ms. Hutchins' death." Before handing the gun to Baldwin, she "needed to do a much more complete check" than she did to ensure it did not contain live rounds, he argued.

Lewis also told jurors that evidence suggests live rounds "came onto the set via the defendant," and he showed a photograph in which a live round appeared to be sitting in her lap, but she apparently "failed to identify" it.

Defense attorney Jason Bowles, meanwhile, blamed on the film's production for the "chaotic" set. In an opening statement, he argued that producers, including Baldwin himself, did not follow basic safety rules, while Gutierrez-Reed did the "best job she could under very, very tough circumstances." He also argued that the film production is seeking to "blame it all on Hannah" because she's an "easy target."

Jury selection begins in Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's trial

The process for selecting 12 jurors began Wednesday with a pool of 70 residents from the Santa Fe area, including non-English speakers, a welder, a teacher, a graduate student and a mother who provides for six children.

At the end of a daylong selection process that involved questions about exposure to media coverage and social media chatter about the case, 12 jurors were sworn in with four alternates.

What is 'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed charged with?

Gutierrez-Reed is being charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Hutchins, as well as tampering with evidence.

The involuntary manslaughter charges are related to her being responsible for gun safety on the set, which includes making sure live ammunition does not make its way into real firearms. The latter charge is connected to text messages that prosecutors say show Gutierrez-Reed was using alcohol and cocaine, including on the night before the shooting.

"It'll be an interesting trial to watch because she'll be throwing Baldwin and the production under the bus," Miguel Custodio, co-founder of Los Angeles-based law firm Custodio & Dubey, previously told USA TODAY. "The focus will be on how the set was in chaos."

Will Hannah Gutierrez-Reed go to prison for 'Rust' shooting?

Legal experts say Gutierrez-Reed faces an uphill battle. "There were a lot of people at fault on this set, but she's going to bear the brunt of it, partly because she doesn't have the (financial) resources that Baldwin has," David Sirotkin, a partner at Morelli Law Firm in New York, told USA TODAY ahead of the trial.

Tre Lovell, entertainment attorney with Los Angeles-based The Lovell Firm, added: "Hannah is the most likely person to go to jail here, because simply put, her job was to make things safe. Even if the set was a mess, this was her job, and you can’t delegate it."

What's more, "jurors tend not to react well if they hear someone is getting high and then a tragic accident happens," Custodio said. "It's one thing if your job is hard; it’s another if you are partying while you're doing it."

If Gutierrez-Reed is convicted, she could face 18 months in prison.

Contributing: Marco della Cava, USA TODAY; Morgan Lee, The Associated Press

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