Prosecutors say Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the set of the film “Rust,” where a gun was discharged and killed a cinematographer, was likely hungover when she loaded a live bullet into the gun Alec Baldwin used.
They accuse Gutierrez-Reed, 25, of drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana in the evenings during filming.
Last month, lawyers for the weapons supervisor filed a motion seeking to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter charges. The prosecutor’s new accusations were made in response to that motion.
The prosecutors accused Gutierrez-Reed of having a history of reckless conduct and argued that it would be in the public interest for her to “finally be held accountable.”
Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, said on June 13 that the prosecution had mishandled the case.
“The case is so weak that they now have chosen to resort to character assassination claims about Hannah,” Bowles told The Associated Press. “The prosecution has abandoned the idea of doing justice and getting to the actual truth, apparently.”
A preliminary hearing for Gutierrez-Reed is scheduled in August, where it will be decided whether the charge against her will be taken further. Gutierrez-Reed is the only person now charged for Hutchins’ death.
Fatal Accident
In October 2021, Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed after a gun Baldwin had been rehearsing with went off on set. The actor was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the incident, but the charges were dropped in April after new evidence suggested the gun’s hammer might have been modified, causing it to misfire.
Baldwin, 65, has said he did not pull the trigger.
“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident,” his attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said in a statement at the time.
Dave Halls, the first assistant director on “Rust,” pleaded in a deal with prosecutors to negligent use of a deadly weapon for his role in Hutchins’ death.
Defense lawyer Bowles has previously said Gutierrez-Reed never bought nor had access to ammunition, the type of live round that killed Hutchins.
Gutierrez-Reed said she loaded the live round into the “Peacemaker” revolver used by Baldwin, thinking it was a dummy round.
Baldwin, who returned to work and just wrapped production of “Rust” in a new location, still faces other civil lawsuits, including one from the family of Hutchins, as well as a suit brought by “Rust” script supervisor Mamie Mitchell. Both parties are represented by Gloria Allred.
“Mr. Baldwin should know that we remain committed to fighting and winning for our clients and holding him accountable for pointing a loaded gun at Halyna Hutchins, pulling the trigger and killing her,” Allred shared in a statement. “Mr. Baldwin may pretend that he is not responsible for pulling the trigger and ejecting a live bullet which ended Halyna’s life.”
“He can run to Montana and pretend that he is just an actor in a wild west movie but, in real life, he cannot escape from the fact that he had a major role in a tragedy which had real-life consequences for Halyna, her mother, father, sister, and co-worker,” the statement continued.
