‘Rust’ shooting: Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction upheld

A judge has upheld the conviction of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the deadly on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by actor and producer Alec Baldwin.

Gutierrez-Reed had asked the New Mexico court to either dismiss the conviction or grant a new trial saying that the prosecution did not share evidence that would have shown her innocence, The Associated Press reported.

But Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said that the armorer’s attorneys did not establish that there would be a change in verdict if the evidence had been available to them.

The judge also denied Gutierrez-Reed’s request to be released because her request for a new trial was denied.

The judge had previously ended Baldwin’s trial because of police and prosecutorial misconduct, saying they withheld evidence from his team of lawyers, the AP reported. The actor had been charged with involuntary manslaughter, CNN reported.

Baldwin was holding a gun on Oct. 21, 2021, pointing it at Hutchins while rehearsing a scene when the gun went off. The bullet hit both Hutchins, killing her, and director Joel Souza who was wounded, CNN reported.

Assistant film director David Halls agreed to a plea deal in 2023, pleading no contest to a count of the negligent use of a deadly weapon and given a sentence of six months of unsupervised probation, according to CNN.

Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March and was sentenced to a maximum of 18 months in prison. She was acquitted of charges that she tampered with evidence.

Prosecutors said the armorer brought live ammunition on the set and did not follow safety protocols.

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