Alex Baldwin trial live: Witness testimony begins with Santa Fe deputy in actor’s involuntary manslaughter case

Video footage played in court shows Baldwin smoking a cigarette while answering questions from LeFleur about the location of the two victims.

The deputy instructed Baldwin not to talk to others. He said he was concerned that witness statements about the incident could be misrepresented.

But prosecutors said that despite LeFleur’s instructions, Baldwin continued to talk about it.

Here are the essential things to know:

The case is being played in court with Santa Fe deputy Nicolas Lefluno.

It shows the chaos that ensued on set after Hutchins and Souza were shot.

LeFleur said when they arrived, people were “running everywhere” and Souza could be heard screaming in pain.

Baldwin sits at the defense table taking notes as the video plays.

The prosecution called the first witness – Deputy Nicholas LeFleur of Santa Fe.

He was the first officer to arrive at the scene after the fatal shooting on set.

Opening statements in Baldwin’s trial have concluded and the court is now recessing for the morning.

Spiro told jurors that the cast and crew were assured multiple times that Baldwin’s gun was “cold.”

He explained to the jury that a cold gun doesn’t mean it has no bullets in it. “It means it doesn’t have a blank cartridge or even a dummy. It means it’s inert and can’t cause any harm. They can’t harm anybody,” he said.

Spiro also said that the atmosphere on set was calm that day.

“Nobody had any idea that this poisonous, toxic element had been put into the spell they were creating, but it happened,” he said. “It seeped into that place. It killed one wonderful person, injured another, and it changed lives forever.”

He then explained the roles of the people on set and placed the blame on armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and first assistant set director David Hall.

“Everybody has a role on a film set. The armorer makes the armor. The director directs. The actor acts,” he said. “They work in harmony, but their responsibility is divided.”

Alex Spiro, one of Baldwin’s attorneys, is now speaking out.

He told jurors that the fatal shooting of Hutchins was an “unspeakable tragedy, but Alex Baldwin committed no crime.”

“You have to step back and remember what they were doing on those movie sets. Movies and magic have always had a deep connection… for many decades across the country,” he said.

Spiro focused on how a live bullet ended up on the Rust film set, insisting there was no evidence Baldwin had anything to do with the bullet entering the gun.

“He was an actor, acting, playing Harlan Rust,” he said. “An actor, playing a character, can act in ways that are lethal, that are not lethal on a movie set. These prime rules, they’re not prime rules on a movie set.”

Johnson told the jury they would see video footage of Baldwin using a gun on set during the trial.

“You will see video footage of multiple occasions when the defendant used this firearm on set, and each time he fired it, it functioned fine,” Johnson said.

“And in fact, you will hear evidence that the defendant himself admitted in December 2021 that there were no mechanical problems with this gun.”

This statement comes after Baldwin said he did not fire a gun the day Hutchins was shot.

Johnson also said the gun was tested repeatedly by an FBI forensic expert, which showed the gun had no malfunctions and was functioning properly.

Prosecutors told the jury that Baldwin regularly failed to perform safety checks with armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on the set of “Rust.”

Johnson said Baldwin was filmed “running in, shooting a gun” during required gun safety training.

He also said he “didn’t want to humiliate” Gutierrez-Reed by checking him every time he was handed a gun.

“You will find that one of the bullets from that revolver was a real bullet, and the evidence will show that Ms. Gutierrez then handed the gun to the defendant,” Johnson said.

“And you will learn that, once again, the defendant failed to conduct a gun safety check with this firearms manufacturer.”

Prosecutor Johnson said Baldwin asked for the “biggest gun” available for the film.

He told the jury during his opening that they would hear evidence that the firearm had been sold to Rust in “perfect” working condition.