In Santa Fe, New Mexico, a movie armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, is seeking to have her involuntary manslaughter conviction overturned or to have a new trial convened in connection to the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by actor Alec Baldwin. Gutierrez-Reed’s defense team has alleged that evidence was suppressed and there was misconduct by the prosecution, arguing that prosecutors failed to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence.
Defense attorney Jason Bowles, in a court filing on Tuesday, brought up the issue of prosecutors not sharing evidence that could have been beneficial to Gutierrez-Reed’s case. The judge who presided over Baldwin’s trial recently halted the proceedings due to misconduct by law enforcement and prosecutors regarding the withholding of evidence related to the 2021 shooting on the set of the film “Rust”.
Lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey, who handled both Baldwin’s and Gutierrez-Reed’s cases, stated that she would provide a written response to the allegations in court the following week. The evidence that led to the end of Baldwin’s trial was ammunition brought to the sheriff’s office by an individual in March, suggesting a potential connection to Hutchins’ death. Prosecutors downplayed the significance of the ammunition, while Baldwin’s legal team claimed it was intentionally overlooked and moved to dismiss the case.
Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty by a jury in March and received the maximum 18-month sentence. She currently has an appeal pending in a higher court regarding the involuntary manslaughter conviction. Prosecutors held Gutierrez-Reed responsible for bringing live ammunition onto the “Rust” set, where it was prohibited, and for not adhering to standard firearm safety measures. Although she was acquitted of tampering with evidence in the “Rust” investigation, Gutierrez-Reed faces a separate felony charge for allegedly carrying a gun into a bar where firearms are not allowed.
The fatal shooting occurred during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe when Baldwin, the star and co-producer of “Rust,” discharged a gun aimed at Hutchins, resulting in her death and injuring director Joel Souza.
