‘Rust’ shooting: Armorer charged with evidence tampering

The armorer who is facing a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly on-set shooting during the filming of the movie “Rust” is now facing an additional charge.

>> Read more trending news

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is now accused of evidence tampering, The Associated Press reported.

Prosecutors said she “did transfer narcotics to another person with the intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of herself,” in a court filing in Santa Fe County, New Mexico.

Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney called the additional charges “retaliatory and vindictive,” the AP reported.

“Something is rotten in Denmark. It is shocking that after 20 months of investigation, the special prosecutor now throws in a completely new charge against Ms. Gutierrez-Reed, with no prior notice or any witness statements, lab reports, or evidence to support it. This comes on the heels of the state letting its lead investigator go, and the investigator raising serious concerns about the investigation in an email. This stinks to high heaven and is retaliatory and vindictive,” defense attorney Jason Bowles told Entertainment Tonight.

Involuntary manslaughter charges were dropped in April against actor and producer Alec Baldwin who pointed a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal for “Rust.” the gun went off and killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. The shooting happened on Oct. 21, 2021.

Guiterrez-Reed is now the only person charged in relation to the shooting but charges could be refiled against Baldwin.

Last week, prosecutors alleged Guiterrez-Reed drank and smoked marijuana during the evenings of the “Rust” shooting schedule and was likely hungover the day of the incident when a live round was mistakenly put into the gun used by Baldwin the AP reported.

Reuters reported that Guitterez-Reed admitted during a police interview to loading the live round by mistake.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 11

Photos: Alec Baldwin fired 'prop gun' that killed 'Rust' cinematographer, officials say The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office responds to the scene of a fatal accidental shooting at a Bonanza Creek Ranch movie set near Santa Fe, N.M., on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021. Authorities say a cinematographer has been killed and a director injured Thursday after they were shot by a prop firearm on the "Rust" movie set. (Luis Sanchez-Saturno//Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)