Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 26, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the tragic on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
During her sentencing on Monday, April 15, Gutierrez-Reed emotionally addressed the judge, expressing remorse and asking for probation.
“My heart aches for the Hutchins family and friends. … Helena has been and always will be an inspiration to me. I understand she was taken too soon and I pray that you all find peace,” she said. “My heart goes out to the film industry for the devastating pain that this tragedy caused. …When I took on Rust, I was young and I was naive, but I took my job as seriously as I knew how to do. Despite not having proper time, resources and staffing, when things got tough, I just did my best to handle it.”
Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for firearms on the New Mexico set of Rust when a gun held by actor Alec Baldwin was discharged during a rehearsal in October 2021, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
Charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of tampering with evidence, Gutierrez-Reed pleaded not guilty to both charges. However, she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter during her trial, which began in February.
Reacting to the ruling, Hutchins’ family expressed satisfaction with the jury’s decision, stating their ongoing pursuit of justice for Halyna.
“Halyna’s parents and her sister have always wanted everyone who is responsible for Halyna’s death to be held accountable,” their attorneys Gloria Allred and John Carpenter said in a statement to Us Weekly at the time. “Today was the first trial and conviction in the criminal justice process. We are satisfied that the jury, based on the evidence, found Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for her part in the taking of Halyna’s life.”
Prosecutors presented recorded jail phone conversations in which Gutierrez-Reed disparaged jurors and expressed desire for Baldwin to serve prison time. This evidence influenced the prosecution’s argument against granting her conditional discharge.
“Gutierrez-Reed’s conversations with her mom, boyfriend, and her attorney’s paralegal demonstrate her ‘complete and total failure to accept responsibility for her actions,'” said prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis in their filing.
Gutierrez-Reed’s sentencing comes ahead of Baldwin’s July trial, as he faces charges of involuntary manslaughter for the second time. He maintains his innocence, asserting he did not pull the trigger and was unaware of live ammunition on set.
“The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them. Never,” Baldwin told George Stephanopoulos in December 2021. “I have no idea [how a bullet got in there]. Someone put a live bullet in a gun. A bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”
Prior to Gutierrez-Reed’s trial, first assistant director David Halls, who handed the gun to Baldwin, pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation.
Credit: US Weekly
