Alec Baldwin may be sweating hard after the maximum sentence handed down Monday to Rust gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed ahead of the star and producer’s criminal trial in July.
Gutierrez-Reed, the main gun handler on the set of the ill-fated indie film Rust, was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison for fatally shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set.
A jury found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March, making her the first crew member to be convicted in the accidental shooting death of Hutchins by actor Alec Baldwin, 66.
Baldwin’s criminal trial will begin July 10, after a grand jury indicted him on involuntary manslaughter in January.
Legal analyst and personal injury attorney Miguel Custodio says that could be “bad news” for the 30 Rock star, who faces the same sentence if convicted.
Rust gunsmith Hannah Guttierez-Reed was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison for the involuntary manslaughter of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
‘[It] This shows that the court is taking this fatal shooting seriously and that it is not just for show as its defenders claim, Custodio said.
“A plea deal would be the best strategy for him at this time, considering today’s sentencing and the information the prosecution has about the chaos on set and the fact that Baldwin did nothing about it. But I don’t see that happen,” he added.
Baldwin has consistently maintained his innocence, but Guttierez-Reed’s lawyers claim that the atmosphere he created on set led to Hutchins’ death.
‘[He] “You may think that you will have an easier time if you believe that your team can convince a jury to see that the only guilty party has already been convicted,” Custodio added.
“It’s a risky proposition, given that Baldwin’s role as producer actually involves him in every aspect of the production. Potential jurors will clearly know what happened to Gutierrez-Reed and will really examine Baldwin’s lack of responsibility for the chaos. in the set.’
Baldwin denied pulling the trigger and said he had been ordered to point the gun at the camera. FBI and private firearms experts determined that the gun would not have fired without pulling the trigger.
He has repeatedly tried to have the charges against him dropped, most recently immediately after Guttierez-Reed’s guilty verdict. It was reported last year that Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, will testify against Baldwin at his criminal trial.
In July, prosecutors will argue that Baldwin, who was a producer on the doomed film, shares responsibility for Hutchins’ tragic end.
Legal analyst and personal injury attorney Miguel Custodio says that could be “bad news” for the 30 Rock star, who faces the same sentence if convicted.
Baldwin has consistently maintained his innocence, but Guttierez-Reed’s lawyers claim the environment he created on set led to Hutchins’ death.
The judge said Rust’s gunsmith was given the length of his sentence because he showed no remorse.
“We know that prosecutors will frame their case around Baldwin overseeing the chaos and doing nothing about it, knowing that Gutierrez-Reed was relatively inexperienced and overwhelmed,” said the co-founder of Custodio & Dubey LLP.
And yet he decided not to bring anyone else in or make any other personnel changes. This morning she said herself that she lacked adequate resources and staff and she tried to do the job anyway.
His lawyers have said he had no ability to regulate his emotions in the weeks before the shooting and that he was pressuring the team to work quickly and “routinely compromised security.”
The legal analyst also points out that it will be the same judge and community who will prosecute him for the same facts.
Hutchins was killed when Baldwin pointed his gun at the cinematographer and cocked the gun while she was setting up a scene.
Gutierrez-Reed cried as a judge read her fate aloud to her in court today and chastised her for her apparent lack of remorse.
“Your attorney had to tell the court that you were remorseful,” Judge Mary Marlow Sommer said.
The first gun pro, who is the stepdaughter of Thell Reed, an esteemed Hollywood gun trainer, was sentenced by Judge Sommer of the District Court of New Mexico.
Halyna Hutchins, 42, was a mother of one and a promising cinematographer when she was fatally shot on the set of the independent western ‘Rust,’ produced by Alec Baldwin.
Alec Baldwin, Halyna Hutchins, and gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed appear in this Rust cast and crew photo.
The infamous gun fired on set that ended up killing cinematographer Hutchins
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys requested that he be given a sentence of probation, but prosecutors requested the 18 months due to an apparent lack of remorse on the defendant’s part.
Judge Sommer sided with prosecutors and handed the full recommended sentence to Gutierrez-Reed after it was noted that she had called jurors “idiots” and said the judge had been “compensated” during the calls. telephone calls he made from prison.
He also continued to blame Baldwin and others on set and the production team for the filming.