- Gutierrez-Reed pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence.
- Alec Baldwin also pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in a separate case.
- Halyna Hutchins died in 2021 after Gutiérrez-Reed mistakenly loaded a live bullet into a reproduction Colt .45 revolver.
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The gunsmith from the doomed film Rust entered a New Mexico courtroom to face trial for the 2021 death of a cinematographer shot dead by Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 25, pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence.
Halyna Hutchins died in 2021 after Gutiérrez-Reed mistakenly loaded a real bullet into a reproduction of a Colt .45 revolver that Baldwin was rehearsing with on the film’s set outside Santa Fe.
Prosecutors plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed loaded a live bullet into the gun that killed Hutchins after unknowingly bringing live ammunition to a set where it was expressly prohibited. They maintain that the gunsmith missed multiple opportunities to ensure security on the film set.
If convicted, Gutierrez-Reed could be sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 25, entered a New Mexico courtroom to face trial in the 2021 death of a cinematographer shot dead by Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal.
Rust gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was seen arriving at court as a jury was being selected for her trial in the 2021 death of a cinematographer who was shot by Alec Baldwin.
Baldwin, lead actor and co-producer of the western film ‘Rust,’ was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (pictured) during a rehearsal outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun went off and killed her.
The revolver Baldwin was holding fired the bullet that killed Hutchins. He said he had accidentally killed Hutchins and denies pulling the trigger.
Jurors were chosen from a pool of 70 Santa Fe area residents that included non-English speakers, a welder, a teacher, a graduate student and a mother who supports six children. Prosecutors asked potential jurors about their exposure to intense media coverage and social media chatter about the case.
Baldwin also pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in a separate case.
Gutierrez-Reed, stepdaughter of renowned sniper and weapons consultant Thell Reed, was 24 years old at the time of Hutchins’ death. “Rust” was her second assignment as a gunsmith in a feature film.
The evidence tampering charge stems from allegations that she handed a small bag of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection by authorities.
His lawyers say that charge is an attempt by prosecutors to smear Gutierrez-Reed’s character. The bag was discarded without checking its contents, defense attorneys said.
Authorities found six rounds of ammunition on the film set in locations including a box, a gun belt and a bandolier that Baldwin was carrying. Baldwin has said that he assumed the gun only had bullets that could not be fired.
The gun Baldwin used to shoot Hutchins was supplied by gunsmith Hannah Gutiérrez-Reed (pictured)
Baldwin is seen in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
Special prosecutors have argued in court papers that Hutchins died due to a series of negligent acts by Gutierrez-Reed. They say she should have noticed the live ammunition and intervened long before the shooting.
Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers say she has been unfairly used as a scapegoat. They maintain that the real bullets came to the set from an Albuquerque-based supplier of dummy bullets. They also pointed to a broader atmosphere of safety failures uncovered during an investigation by state workplace safety inspectors that goes beyond Gutierrez-Reed.
Additionally, Gutierrez-Reed is accused in another case of carrying a gun into a bar in downtown Santa Fe in violation of state law. His attorneys say that charge has been used to try to pressure Gutierrez-Reed into making a false confession about handling live ammunition on the set of “Rust.”
More than 40 people appear as witnesses for the trial that will last until March 6.
Baldwin, Rust’s lead actor and co-producer, was charged in January with one count of involuntary manslaughter.
Baldwin has said he removed the gun’s hammer, not the trigger, and the gun fired.
