Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer responsible for preparing Alec Baldwin’s gun on a film set, which discharged and fatally killed a cinematographer, has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Despite the conviction, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was acquitted on another count related to evidence tampering concerning the 2021 incident that took Halyna Hutchins’ life on the “Rust” set. She is potentially facing a sentence of up to 18 months in jail.
Alec Baldwin is also awaiting trial on manslaughter charges connected to the tragic event.
During a rehearsal for the Western movie in New Mexico, Ms. Hutchins, aged 42, lost her life when a live bullet was fired from the gun Baldwin was using.
After three hours of deliberation, the jury reached a verdict on Wednesday. Throughout the reading of her verdict, Gutierrez-Reed showed no emotion.
Upon being escorted out by officers, she reassured her tearful mother, saying, “It’ll be OK,” as reported by Reuters.
Ms. Hutchins’ family expressed their contentment with the verdict through a statement, anticipating further accountability for others involved in her death through the legal system.
This verdict could potentially benefit Mr. Baldwin, as his defense team can argue that the presence of a live round on set was unforeseeable and the responsibility of the armourer.
The prosecution criticized Gutierrez-Reed for not ensuring the gun was loaded with dummy rounds and highlighted the overall lack of safety that led to Ms. Hutchins’ death.
Kari T Morrissey, the prosecutor, accused Gutierrez-Reed of negligence and recklessness for not detecting the mix-up of live and dummy bullets in the ammunition used on set.
Evidence suggested Gutierrez-Reed had brought live ammunition from California to New Mexico, which allegedly became scattered across the set.
Ms. Morrissey emphasized the incident as a tragic result of negligence, criticizing Gutierrez-Reed’s focus on her career over safety following the incident.
Gutierrez-Reed chose not to testify, with her attorney arguing the prosecution had not proven her sole responsibility for the shooting.
Her lawyer contested the relevance of ammunition boxes and argued that Baldwin’s deviation from the script by pointing the gun was unforeseeable. An appeal is planned by her legal team.
Witnesses at the trial included Joel Souza, the director of the film, who was injured in the shooting but survived.
Mr. Souza recounted how, after being shot, he looked towards Gutierrez-Reed and heard her repeatedly apologizing, saying, “I’m sorry, Joel.”
The court was presented with moving and upsetting video footage capturing the moments following the incident, when the Colt .45 revolver being handled by Mr. Baldwin discharged.
This footage also captured what seemed to be the last moments of Ms. Hutchins, as paramedics desperately attempted to provide life-saving measures.
Furthermore, Gutierrez-Reed was acquitted on charges of tampering with evidence, which alleged she tried to get rid of a small bag of narcotics following the incident.
In tribute to Ms. Hutchins, the film’s production was completed last year, with her spouse taking on the role of an executive producer.
