Albuquerque— On Friday, a New Mexico judge denied a movie set armorer's appeal of her involuntary manslaughter conviction for Alec Baldwin's 2021 killing of a cinematographer on the Western film “Rust.”
Santa Fe Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she would maintain the course and keep armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in custody until her April sentencing after hearing brief arguments online.
A jury convicted Gutierrez-Reed in early March of the October 2021 rehearsal shooting in the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Baldwin was grand jury-indicted in January and has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. His trial is scheduled for July.
Gutierrez-Reed's defense attorneys requested a new trial earlier this month and urged the judge to release him from jail during deliberations. Friday, Jason Bowles informed the judge that his client had no trial breaches, cares for her father, and has been in counseling.
“She’s done nothing wrong. She's not dangerous or flighty, he remarked. The judge said, “Keep in mind there was a death that the jury determined was caused by her so I’m not releasing her.” An 18-month prison sentence and $5,000 fine are possible for involuntary manslaughter. The Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility holds Gutierrez-Reed.
Defense attorneys claimed in court that the jury instructions could confuse jurors and result in a nonunanimous verdict. Similar arguments to the jury instructions were dismissed at trial, but Bowles on Friday cited a New Mexico Supreme Court judgment in an unrelated case that addressed situations where jurors must evaluate two or more particular acts when weighing a charge.
He explained that Gutierrez-Reed was accused of failing to execute a safety check on the gun used on set and loading a live ammunition. His claim that jurors should have had separate instructions for each act failed. Gutierrez-Reed could be sentenced on April 15 under current scheduling. Baldwin aimed a handgun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed and director Joel Souza wounded.
Baldwin claims he pulled the hammer but not the trigger. Baldwin claimed his gun went off without a draw during Gutierrez-Reed's trial, but an independent gun expert disagreed. The prosecution accused Gutierrez-Reed of unintentionally carrying live ammunition onto the “Rust” set, which was illegal. They also accused her of gun safety violations.
Last year, “Rust” assistant director and safety coordinator Dave Halls pled no contest to careless firearm handling and served six months unsupervised probation.
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