Armorer On Alec Baldwin Movie ‘Rust’ Found Guilty Of Involuntary Manslaughter

Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer in the Alec Baldwin movie “Rust,” has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

“Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed (C) talks with her attorney Jason Bowles (R) and her defense team during her involuntary manslaughter trial at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M., on March 5, 2024. (Jim Weber/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool)

The decision on Wednesday came after less than three hours of deliberation.

Following the verdict, Ms. Gutierrez-Reed, 26, was immediately remanded into custody. The Arizona native now faces a potential sentence of up to three years in prison.

However, in a surprising split verdict, a 12-member jury in Santa Fe declined to convict her on evidence-tampering charges, leaving some aspects of the case unresolved.

Ms. Gutierrez-Reed was charged with evidence tampering in 2023, after investigators accused her of passing off a bag of cocaine on the day of the shooting.

The tragic incident unfolded on Oct. 21, 2021, during the filming of the movie “Rust,” when actor Mr. Baldwin was handling a reproduction Colt .45 revolver during rehearsals inside a movie-set church outside Santa Fe.

First assistant director David Halls had reportedly handed the weapon to Mr. Baldwin, assuring him it did not contain live ammunition. The firearm discharged, leading to the death of cinematographer Ms. Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

The manslaughter charges against Mr. Baldwin for his role in the incident have already been dropped twice. However, he is expected to face trial in July after the charges were reinstated.

Lawyers for Ms. Gutierrez-Reed claimed she was being scapegoated for Mr. Baldwin’s alleged failure to follow firearms safety rules, and for a chaotic, low-budget production where industry safety guidelines were ignored to save time.

During the trial, “Rust” camera crew member Ross Addiego said Mr. Halls, Mr. Baldwin, and Ms. Gutierrez-Reed would skip firearms safety checks to try to meet daily production goals.

“Miss Gutierrez-Reed loaded a firearm that killed my friend,” Mr. Addiego said, while weeping.

Mr. Halls entered a plea deal last year and was convicted of negligent use of a deadly weapon.

During the investigation, it was revealed that five live rounds were discovered on the set, intermixed with dummy rounds. The source of the live ammunition remains unknown.

While Ms. Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, the jury opted not to convict her on evidence tampering charges.

Mr. Baldwin has denied responsibility for Ms. Hutchins’s death. In December 2021, he told ABC News that he cocked the gun but did not pull the trigger.

This was contradicted by an FBI firearms expert at the trial, who said the Italian-made Pietta revolver would not fire when fully cocked without the trigger being pulled.

Lawyers for Mr. Baldwin, who was also a producer of the film, plan to file a motion to dismiss on grounds that a grand jury failed to follow certain rules when it reinstated charges against him in January.

Prosecutors called a grand jury to recharge Mr. Baldwin after an independent test of the single-action revolver confirmed the FBI’s findings that it would not discharge without a trigger pull.

The trial began on Feb. 21. It included testimony from weapons experts, FBI agents, Santa Fe County authorities, and crew members who witnessed the fatal shooting.

The prosecution focused on Ms. Gutierrez-Reed’s alleged negligence in her role as an armorer.

“Hannah Gutierrez knew that Baldwin was loose. She knew it,” special prosecutor Kari Morrissey said during closing arguments. “She didn’t do anything about it, even though it was her job. It was her job. It is her job to say to an A-list actor, if in fact, that’s what you want to call him, ‘Hey, you can’t behave that way with those firearms.’ That is her job. That is what they pay her for. That is the job that she applied for. That is the job that she accepted.”

Ms. Gutierrez-Reed’s defense argued that the prosecution lacked sufficient evidence for an involuntary manslaughter conviction.

Her lawyer, Jason Bowles, told the jury that the fatal shooting was attributed to events beyond Ms. Gutierrez-Reed’s control, including the placement of live rounds on set and Mr. Baldwin’s alleged unexpected actions.

“They can’t come in here with a straight face and mock us and criticize us and tell you they have given you enough to convict her beyond a reasonable doubt because they haven’t,” Mr. Bowles said.