Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed jailed for 18 months over Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins

RUST armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been jailed for 18 months over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Gutierrez-Reed, 26, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter after Hutchins, 42, was shot dead in 2021 when actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun with live ammunition.

AP

Movie armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter over the death of Halyna Hutchins[/caption]

Rex

The Mega Agency

She left guns unattended and let actors – including Baldwin – wave weapons around, the court heard[/caption]

The Mega Agency

Alec Baldwin – pictured speaking to police in the immediate aftermath of the fatal shooting – could also face time behind bars[/caption]

Baldwin, 66, fired the loaded prop gun from point blank range during a rehearsal on the set of Western blockbuster Rust – killing Hutchins.

Gutierrez-Reed had mistakenly loaded a live round into an imitation Colt .45 revolver, which was then handed to Baldwin – who could also face time behind bars.

In March, a court jury concluded Gutierrez-Reed negligently allowed the live ammunition on set.

Gutierrez-Reed’s 10-day trial heard how she was ultimately responsible for having six live rounds on the film set in New Mexico – in clear violation of movie industry practices.

Prosecutor Kari T Morrissey branded Gutierrez-Reed “careless” and “thoughtless” for failing to notice live bullets mixed with dummys in an ammo box.

In her closing argument, Ms Morrisey added: “This case is about constant, never-ending safety failures that resulted in the death of a human being.”

It also heard how she repeatedly failed to follow basic safety rules.

She left guns unattended and let actors – including Baldwin – wave weapons around, the court heard.

Gutierrez-Reed was found not guilty of evidence tampering stemming from accusations that she attempted to dispose of a small bag of narcotics after the shooting.

Baldwin was also charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023 – but the charges were dropped three months later.

The actor, however, was charged again in January this year with the same crime and will face trial in July.

He could face the same sentence as Reed, who pleaded guilty before her conviction.

If convicted, he also faces 18 months in prison.

Baldwin denies the charges and his defence team has attempted to dismiss the case.

Following Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction, Hutchin’s family lawyers said her parents and sister “have always wanted everyone who is responsible for Halyna’s death to be held accountable”.

“We look forward to the justice system continuing to make sure that everyone else who is responsible for Halyna’s death is required to face the legal consequences for their actions,” they said.

Baldwin previously said he only pulled back the hammer of the gun and denied pulling the trigger that caused the gun to fire.

The dad-of-seven also argued he is not at fault because he had no knowledge that the weapon contained live rounds as no live ammunition was supposed to be on set.

Baldwin called Hutchin’s death an “accident” and a “one-in-a-trillion episode” on set.

Prosecutors claim Baldwin has repeatedly changed his story over the shooting.

Getty

The Mega Agency

The aftermath of the shooting on the set of Western film Rust[/caption]

Splash

Baldwin being interviewed by detectives after the fatal shooting in Santa Fe, New Mexico[/caption]

AP

The revolver Baldwin was holding and fired, killing Halyna Hutchins[/caption]

Reuters

Hutchins’ parents and sister ‘want everyone who is responsible for her death to be held accountable’[/caption]

In a court filing in April, Ms Morrissey and Jason Lewis said: “Every time Mr Baldwin spoke, a different version of events emerged from his mouth, and his later statements contradicted his previous statements.”

The prosecutors also claimed the “unconcerned” star had no control over his emotions, The Times reported.

They said Baldwin would scream on-site, which contributed to safety issues throughout production.

And the prosecution claim that several of the defence team’s points during an April meeting were “false or misleading”.

Director-writer Joel Souza was also shot on the New Mexico set, but survived.

Dave Halls, the film’s safety coordinator and assistant director – who handed Baldwin the loaded gun – agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors last year.

He was sentenced to six months’ probation.