‘Rust’ Armorer Drank, Smoked Pot the Night Before She Loaded Fatal Live Round, Prosecutors Allege
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the set of “Rust,” is alleged to have been drinking and smoking marijuana at night amid the filming of the Alec Baldwin-starring Western.
Prosecutors have alleged, in response to a motion to dismiss from her attorneys, that she was likely hung over when she loaded a live bullet into the revolver that eventually fired, striking and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
“It is likely that Defendant Gutierrez was hung over when she inserted a live bullet into a gun that she knew was going to be used at some point by an actor while filming a shooting scene with other actors and crew members,” reads the response.
The prosecutors’ response, delivered on Friday, accused the weapons supervisor of having a history of reckless conduct and argued that it would be in the public interest for her to “finally be held accountable.” A preliminary hearing for Gutierrez-Reed is scheduled in August. A judge is then expected to decide if there’s probable cause for the case against her to move forward.
In the response, which TheWrap has obtained, the prosecutors noted that they may decide within the next 60 days whether to recharge Alec Baldwin, who was holding the weapon when it fired during a rehearsal in October 2021. This will depend on the results of an analysis of the gun and its broken sear, which is a part of the trigger mechanism. These items were sent to the state’s independent expert for additional testing.
The involuntary manslaughter charge faced by Baldwin, who was both the star and a producer of the film, was dismissed in April after prosecutors cited new evidence and the need for more time to investigate.
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys argued in their motion for dismissal that the prosecution was “tainted by improper political motives” and that District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and the initial special prosecutor she appointed, Andrea Reeb, “both used the tragic film set accident that resulted in the death of Halyna Hutchins as an opportunity to advance their personal interests.”
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The defense lawyers further contend that the permanent damage done to the gun by FBI testing before the defense could examine it amounted to destruction of evidence and a violation of the court’s rules of discovery.
They also argued that the “selective prosecution” of Gutierrez-Reed was a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. New special prosecutors who were appointed after Reeb stepped down disputed those claims in their response, saying “nothing about this prosecution has or will be selective.”
The prosecutors also acknowledged the unanswered question of where the live rounds found on set came from, saying they were trying to find out and that the investigation was ongoing. They also suggested there was evidence to support the theory that Gutierrez-Reed herself may be responsible and if so, more charges may follow.
The film resumed production in April of this year.
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