Rust Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed Faces Prison for Involuntary Manslaughter and Gun Charge

TFD – Learn about the legal challenges facing Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, including involuntary manslaughter charges and illegal firearm possession.

In the case against “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, prosecutors contend that she has shown a “complete and total failure to accept responsibility for her actions” and are requesting that she be sentenced to 18 months in prison, which is the maximum term for the involuntary manslaughter charge she was found guilty of. The court document was filed on Friday.

March saw the conviction of Gutierrez Reed for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the passing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. On the set of “Rust,” actor Alec Baldwin was holding a pretend gun when a real gunshot from that rifle killed Hutchins in October of 2021. She was also found not guilty of tampering with evidence in another case.

On the set of the film, Gutierrez Reed was in charge of gun storage and safety. His sentencing is scheduled for Monday. As part of the punishment, Gutierrez Reed faces a $5,000 fine in addition to the maximum amount of time in jail.

In a case that brought attention to the safety regulations violated by the film industry, she was the first to go on trial. During the trial, prosecutors argued Gutierrez Reed repeatedly violated safety protocol on set and acted negligently and without caution in performing her duties as armorer, and that her actions ultimately led to Hutchins’ death.

Baldwin, the person in possession of the firearm when Hutchins died, is currently being charged with involuntary manslaughter, much like Gutierrez Reed.

In a recent court document, special prosecutors in New Mexico asserted that Baldwin’s actions on the set were a factor in the “safety compromises” that resulted in the tragic shooting. The response to Baldwin’s team’s March request to have the indictment against him withdrawn was filed.

Baldwin entered a not guilty plea in January to a charge of involuntary manslaughter related to the incident.

The lawyer for Gutierrez Reed asked for a conditional discharge in a sentencing memo that was filed earlier this week, citing the client’s lack of prior criminal background and “record of prior good works.”

TFD has contacted the lawyer for Gutierrez Reed for comment.

Summaries of some of the special prosecutor’s office’s calls to the jailhouse were used as justification for Gutierrez Reed receiving the maximum sentence.

Prosecutors said that throughout the calls, she called the jurors names, accused the special prosecutor’s office and the court of plotting against her, and put the blame for Hutchins’ death on the paramedics and set medic. The special prosecutors also believe Gutierrez Reed drank alcohol, which would have been against her parole, based on the chronology of one of the jailhouse conversations, they added.

TFD has requested access to the whole phone recordings and transcripts from the prosecutor’s office.

According to a court document, Gutierrez Reed is also charged with an unrelated offense of illegally carrying a firearm in a licensed liquor establishment after she broke into a pub with a gun and recorded herself discussing it in the restroom. The court records indicate that the matter is still pending.