During the trial of the weapons supervisor for Alec Baldwin’s Rust film, the prosecution raised concerns regarding the conduct of a witness. Frank Louis Blair Koucky III, a firearms expert testifying for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s defense, received a stern warning from District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. This warning came after he exhibited an unloaded revolver for demonstrative purposes.
With the nature of the case about the very same issue, though with a real bullet mistakenly fired instead of a blank bullet the action of the fire arm's expert led to gaping mouths.
The judge cautioned Mr. Koucky about the necessity of ensuring firearms are unloaded before display, expressing the unease felt due to the lack of confirmation. Despite this, Mr. Koucky startled the courtroom when he seemingly aimed the revolver towards the judge in an attempt to prove it was unloaded. It should be stated he claimed the gun was, "Not loaded," before being questioned.
In subsequent cross-examination, prosecutor Kari Morrissey referred to this incident, questioning Mr. Koucky on basic gun safety principles.
Kari Morrissey, prosecuting, later referenced the moment in her cross-examination of the expert who had earlier stated that he had been “shooting almost from birth”.
Morrissey questiones Mr Koucky if he agreed that elementary gun safety requires the handler of the gunnot to point it directly at anyone. Koucky III agreed.
Ms Morrissey continued, “Do you agree with me that while you were sitting here
in the courtroom you pulled out a gun and pointed it at the judge?”
“I do not,” Mr Koucky said, gesturing in the air with his hands. “I pointed it to this
space up here, never directly at the judge.”
Ms. Gutierrez-Reed, aged 26, who was responsible for supervising weapons and ammunition on the set of Rust, faced charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the tragic death of cinematographer
Halyna Hutchins, aged 42 on a film set near Santa Fe in October 2021. Allegations suggest that Ms. Gutierrez-Reed brought live ammunition onto the set, one of which was discharged from a revolver wielded by Mr. Baldwin, resulting in the death of Ms. Hutchins.
Gutierrez-Reed was "negligent", "careless" and "thoughtless" when she failed to notice that live bullets had mixed with dummy rounds in a container of ammunition on set, said Ms Morrissey to the jurors.
Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and acquitted of tampering with evidence after the jury deliberated for approximately 2½ hours.
Gutierrez-Reed, aged 26, now faces a potential sentence of up to 18 months in state prison,
with her sentencing scheduled for a later date. Following the verdict, the judge ordered her immediate remand into custody.
Gutierrez-Reed displayed little emotion as the jury foreperson announced the verdicts.
She removed her necklace before being taken into custody by a deputy. Her mother, seated nearby, visibly distressed, placed her hands on her head and leaned forward as the judge issued the order for her daughter to be detained pending sentencing.
https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/overview-firearms-identification-evidence-attorneys-part-3
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