VIDEO: ‘Rust’ Movie Armorer Sentenced to18-Month Imprisonment for Involuntary
A New Mexico judge sentenced Rust film armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, to 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
Gutierrez-Reed, 26, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month for the 2021 on-set shooting death of the film’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Actor Alec Baldwin was the individual responsible for shooting Hutchins, but he essentially blamed the film’s armorer, Gutierrez-Reed, for the incident.
Baldwin initially claimed that he did not pull the trigger. However, the pistol was later submitted for a more thorough forensic examination by two special prosecutors, Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis. After reconstructing the gun, which had been damaged during FBI testing, its specialists Lucien and Michael Haag came to the conclusion that it could only have been shot by pulling the trigger, rather than an “accidental firing,” what Baldwin has claimed.
“An Armorer supervises the use of all weapons on a film set and provides instruction for the Actors on how to use them properly and safely,” according to careersinfilm.com
Gutierrez-Reed’s defense lawyers requested a conditional discharge, asking the judge to release her on probation with certain conditions, rather than the maximum sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
“It’s possible the judge grants [Gutierrez-Reed] a conditional discharge, but I don’t think it’s likely,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital. “Gutierrez Reed still hasn’t accepted any responsibility for her actions which caused someone’s death. She pushed her case to trial, and her lawyers have said they’re going to appeal because of the jury instructions.”
“At the time of the shooting, Gutierrez-Reed was more concerned with her career being over than Hutchins’ death,” he added. “Add the drug use and obstruction of justice – I don’t think she’s a very sympathetic defendant. These letters are probably too little, too late to sway the judge.”
On March 6th, a jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico, found the Rust primary weapons handler guilty of involuntary manslaughter in less than two hours. A juror later stated that the defendant failed to do “her job” to guarantee weapon safety on set of the film.
A grand jury also charged Baldwin for involuntary manslaughter, and he is now scheduled to go on trial on July 10th. Baldwin was both an actor and a co-producer for the movie.
Prosecutors stated during the trial that Gutierrez-Reed neglected to adhere to basic safety protocols and that the weapons supervisor had placed at least one live round and dummy rounds into Baldwin’s fully operational revolver.
As a result, Hutchins, 42, was shot and killed, and Joel Souza, the director of the movie, was injured as well, but not fatally.
“She was negligent, she was careless, she was thoughtless,” explained Kari Morrissey, the prosecutor, referring to Gutierrez-Reed.
Anger about hazardous working conditions in Hollywood increased after the news of the shooting. According to a crew member who testified at Gutierrez-Reed’s trial, production had been going at “ludicrous speeds” and safety was “secondary” on this chaotic set.
When Baldwin aimed his gun at the cinematographer, she set up a camera shot and the gun fired a live cartridge, killing her. Previously, Baldwin denied that he even pulled the trigger.
Baldwin is charged with either gross negligence or “total disregard or indifference” for safety in the death of Hutchins. Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney had asserted that Baldwin was to blame for what happened and that she was being exploited as a “scapegoat.”
“It was not in the script for Mr. Baldwin to point the weapon,” defense attorney Jason Bowles said during the trial. “She didn’t know that Mr. Baldwin was going to do what he did.”
Although Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction stemmed from the lowest category of felony charge, defense lawyer Oleg Nekritin of the Law Offices of Robert J. DeGroot told Fox News Digital that “it will be difficult for the court to ignore that the crime led to a loss of life.”
“As part of its sentence, the court must consider Ms. Gutierrez-Reed’s good character and her caretaking functions for her sick father,” Nekritin further stated. “However, the court will most likely be swayed by the position of the victim’s family and the State. If the victim’s family and the State request that Ms. Gutierrez Reed be sentenced to a term of incarceration, it will be likely that the court will follow suit.”
“If the victim’s family asks for leniency, that may give the court cover and reason to be lenient and justify a lower sentence. Ms. Gutierrez-Reed’s future may depend on the grace of the victim’s family.”
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