'Rust' armorer waives hearing, shooting case may now go to trial

"Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez on Friday waived her right to a preliminary hearing, allowing charges against her over the 2021 shooting death of the movie's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins to move toward a possible trial.

In a court filing, Gutierrez's lawyer Jason Bowles made no comment on why the weapons handler turned down a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 9-16 in which a judge was to decide whether there were grounds to try for charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in connection with Hutchins' death.

Hutchins died after a revolver actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing with fired a live round that killed the rising-star cinematographer and wounded director Joel Souza. Gutierrez told police she loaded the round into the handgun mistaking it for a dummy round.

Prosecutors dismissed charges against Baldwin in April after new evidence showed the revolver's hammer may have been modified and the weapon could have fired without the actor pulling the trigger. Baldwin has said he did not pull the trigger.

Prosecutor Kari Morrissey said she may file new charges against Baldwin should results of a new test of the revolver, which are expected this week, show it was not modified.