Trial of Hannah Gutierrez Reed: Rust Film Armorer Faces Involuntary Manslaughter Charges

TFD – Get the latest updates on the trial of Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer behind the fatal shooting on the set of “Rust” film.

The high-profile involuntary manslaughter trial of “Rust” film armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who the prosecution claims repeatedly disregarded safety regulations and protocol on the western film’s New Mexico set, could start with opening statements as early as Thursday. This led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was struck by a live round fired from a prop gun held by actor Alec Baldwin.

Twelve jurors – seven men and five women – will now decide whether 26-year-old Gutierrez Reed, who was also the film’s key props assistant, is responsible for the killing. She will be the first defendant in this intricate, multi-year case that has brought attention to the safety regulations broken by the film industry, particularly this particular set of infractions.

Gutierrez Reed has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter “in the alternative” for the October 2021 shooting, meaning jurors will not only have to decide whether she is guilty, but also under which legal definition of the state’s two types of involuntary manslaughter.

Prosecutors have also charged her with tampering with evidence, alleging she transferred a “small bag of cocaine” to someone else after returning from a police interview on the day of the shooting.

For all counts, Gutierrez Reed has entered a not guilty plea. She may spend up to 18 months in prison and pay a $5,000 fine for each offense if found guilty.

Prosecutors have alleged Gutierrez Reed repeatedly violated safety protocols and neglected her responsibilities leading up to the shooting on October 21, 2021, including failing to perform safety checks on the prop weapon and the ammunition she loaded it with, handing it to a staff member who should not have been handling weapons on set and then departing from the area she should have been supervising when Baldwin ultimately fired the fatal round. Prosecutors claim that the conduct of Gutierrez Reed caused Hutchins, 42, to pass away.

However, the defense team has described the incident as a terrible accident and charged that the state is trying to damage Gutierrez Reed’s image in order to support the prosecution’s political agenda in the case. In her defense, she claims that she followed her safety procedures and that live ammunition had no business being on the set. They have pointed to other members of the production who bore responsibility for what took place on set, including the film’s assistant director – who handed Baldwin the loaded gun and took a plea deal in the case last year.

Separately, Baldwin is also expected to stand trial on an involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with the killing. He has pleaded not guilty and has previously said he didn’t pull the trigger.

Key moments before the shooting

Prosecutors said in a January 2023 probable cause statement that the armorer had loaded a prop gun and, without following the correct safety procedures for simulated ammunition, had left it in the prop truck safe on the set over lunch. Ammunition that doesn’t have any explosive materials but seems to be a real bullet when shot is referred to as “dummy” bullets.

According to the probable cause statement, Gutierrez Reed also left a cart that contained ammunition unsecured and unsupervised during the break.

The statement claims Gutierrez Reed disregarded safety protocols and failed to conduct a weapon safety check following the break. David Halls, an assistant film director, is “prohibited and/or strictly discouraged from handling any of the firearms” on set, according to the prosecution, so she gave him the gun. Prosecutors claim that Gutierrez Reed then fled the location, breaking safety protocol once more.

Gutierrez Reed’s attorney, Jason Bowles, previously told NBC his client had loaded the gun with what she believed were dummy rounds before Baldwin used it on set, saying she retrieved them from a box that was labeled “dummy.”

“She loaded rounds from that box into the handgun only to later find out – and she had no idea, she inspected the rounds – that there was a live round,” Bowles said at the time. In January 2022, Gutierrez Reed filed a lawsuit against the gun and ammo supplier for the film, claiming they had given her a stash of fake rounds mixed in with genuine shots.

While prosecutors have alleged Gutierrez Reed did not take out each round and show it to Baldwin and Halls as per protocol to ensure they were not live rounds, Bowles told NBC she spun the gun chamber for Halls and showed him “each and every round in that chamber.”

“There were six dummy rounds, she believed, to be in that handgun,” he told NBC, noting dummy rounds look like live rounds.

Gutierrez Reed was not in the area where Baldwin was rehearsing at the time of the shooting because the gathering was just supposed to be technical preparation, which would not require her presence, her attorneys have previously said.

The set had a “cold gun” shout.

According to an affidavit filed by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and obtained by CNN affiliate KOAT, Halls, who received the firearm from Gutierrez Reed shortly before the shooting that day, yelled “cold gun” before Baldwin fired the weapon, indicating that the firearm did not have any live rounds in it.

According to the affidavit, Halls, who CNN has revealed has previously been the target of safety concerns in past projects, was unaware that the rifle had live ammunition.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Halls accepted a plea deal in 2023 for his involvement in the shooting and pleaded not guilty to one count of negligent use of a deadly weapon. According to the Times, he was given a punishment that included six months of unsupervised probation, a $500 fine, completion of a 24-hour community service project, enrollment in a guns safety course, and a ban on narcotics and alcohol.

At the time, Lisa Torraco, Halls’ lawyer, issued a statement defending her client. “This is the best result for Mr. Halls and the case, absent any charges at all,” Torraco declared. “Now that this issue is behind him, he can allow the tragedy’s focus to be on the shooting victims and changing the industry to ensure that this kind of accident never occurs again.”

The probable cause statement claims that Baldwin had been rehearsing for a scenario and was following Hutchins and the movie’s director, Joel Souza, while he drew and pointed the firearm.

Just before 2:00 p.m., Baldwin pulled out the pistol, aimed it at Hutchins, and shot it, wounding Souza and striking her in the chest, according to the probable cause statement provided by the prosecution. That same day, shortly after 3:30 p.m., Hutchins was declared deceased.

In the probable cause statement, prosecutors alleged Gutierrez Reed “failed to mitigate or address multiple significant safety violations, safety issues, protocol violation(s) and/or concerns that resulted in multiple noted instances of recklessness leading up to, contributing to, and causing the fatal shooting.”

Five live rounds and one additional, spent, live round were retrieved from the set by investigators, according to the statement.

“The most egregious incident(s) of a reckless violation of safety and armorer duties is to allow live ammunition on or even near a film set where firearms are being used,” prosecutors said in the statement. “Reed should have caught this live ammunition on set but put everyone on the Rust set in danger by failing to do her job.”

A government report published roughly six months after the shooting painted a picture of a much larger problem, noting the “Rust” movie set “willfully violated” safety rules and “demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety.”

The investigation said that the film’s management team was aware that gun safety regulations were not being followed on site but did nothing to address the situation.

Rust Movie Productions, LLC was fined nearly $137,000 – the maximum allowed by New Mexico law – and issued the highest-level citation for their actions.

At the time, Melina Spadone, an attorney for Rust Movie Productions, said: “We are pleased to have entered into an agreement with OHSB, subject to approval, which downgrades the citation and reduces penalties. Resuming and finishing this film has always been our first goal in order to pay tribute to Halyna Hutchins’ life and contributions. Settling this case rather than litigating is how we can best move forward to achieve that goal.”

Prosecutors were accused by the defense of “character assassination.”

In order to “avoid prosecution and prevent law enforcement from obtaining highly inculpatory evidence directly related to the defendant’s handling of the firearm and the circumstances of the fatal shooting,” according to the prosecution, it is suggested that she made the transfer.

Bowles called the charge “character assassination,” telling CNN in June 2023 there was no “actual evidence of anything,” and questioned the witness who “suddenly appears 20 months later.”

Similar to how the defense lawyer had reacted weeks earlier when the prosecution claimed that his client had been “drinking heavily and smoking marijuana in the evening during the shooting of Rust,” the defense lawyer said that his client was probably intoxicated when she shot a live bullet into the prop gun.

In order to further tarnish the jury pool, Bowles told CNN at the time, “The prosecution has so mishandled this case and the case is so weak that they are now resorting to character assassination tactics.”

“For them, finding an easy scapegoat has been more important than seeking justice in this investigation and prosecution.”

It is anticipated that Gutierrez Reed’s trial will go roughly two weeks.