A conviction for involuntary manslaughter against the armorer in the shooting death of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the western movie “Rust” was upheld by a New Mexico judge on Monday.
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for providing dummy and blank rounds to the film set, sought to have her conviction dismissed or a new trial in the shooting death, alleging misconduct and suppression of evidence by law enforcement. She filed her request days after Baldwin’s own trial over the 2021 shooting death of a cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set outside Santa Fe collapsed due to withheld evidence.
Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury in March in a trial overseen by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who later sentenced her to the maximum sentence of 18 months. Gutierrez-Reed already has an appeal of his involuntary manslaughter conviction pending in a higher court.
Jim Weber/AP
Prosecutors accused Gutierrez-Reed of unknowingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust” and failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys argued her case should be retried because prosecutors failed to share evidence that could have been exculpatory.
She was acquitted at trial of allegations that she tampered with evidence in the “Rust” investigation. Gutierrez-Reed has also pleaded not guilty to a separate charge that she allegedly carried a gun into a bar in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where firearms are prohibited. A proposed settlement is pending court review.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of “Rust,” pointed a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a film set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.