The weapons supervisor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust” pleaded guilty Monday to a separate criminal charge of carrying a gun into a licensed liquor establishment. Movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed agreed to change her plea to guilty on the charge in exchange for a reduced sentence of 18 months supervised probation, the Associated Press reports. Judge T. Glenn Ellington approved the agreement that allows Gutierrez-Reed to begin probation while serving out an 18-month prison term at a New Mexico state penitentiary for involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halnya Hutchins. In the “Rust” case, prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the movie set and for failing to follow basic gun safety protocols. She shuffled into the Santa Fe courtroom Monday in a beige jumpsuit, handcuffs and ankle shackles to change her plea.
“I’d just like to apologize to the court and thank you for your judgment today,” she said. The case stems from evidence that a few weeks before “Rust” began filming in October 2021, Gutierrez-Reed carried a gun into a downtown bar in Santa Fe where firearms are prohibited. Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey said Gutierrez-Reed filmed herself in the bathroom of the bar with a handgun explaining how she snuck in the prohibited firearm in a video found when authorities searched the armorer’s phone during the “Rust” investigation. Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Hutchins. She has appealed that conviction. Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for “Rust,” was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal for the film when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed an involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin during a trial based on the withholding of evidence by police and prosecutors from the defense. Under her plea agreement, Gutierrez-Reed is prohibited while on probation from possessing firearms, consuming alcohol or drugs and must submit a sample of her DNA to a criminal database and complete an addiction treatment program.
Comments