Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer and weapons supervisor for the Alec Baldwin movie "Rust," pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence.
Gutierrez-Reed, 26, entered the plea at First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Court documents showed she was released without bail but must undergo drug testing twice a month in her home state of Arizona. A trial date of Dec. 6 was set for Guiterrez-Reed, who, if convicted on all charges, faces a maximum of three years in prison.
Gutierrez-Reed loaded the gun which discharged while actor Baldwin was holding it, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, and wounding the film's director, Joel Souza, during a rehearsal on Oct. 21, 2021.
Prosecutors accused Gutierrez-Reed in court documents with acting recklessly to ensure set safety with the firearm and not making sure the gun used by Baldwin was not loaded with live ammunition, which is suppose to be banned on movie sets.
In June, prosecutors said in a response to a motion to dismiss the case by Gutierrez-Reed's legal team that "witnesses in the current case will testify that Defendant Gutierrez was drinking heavily and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the shooting of 'Rust.'
"It is likely that Defendant Gutierrez was hungover when she inserted a live bullet into a gun that she knew was going to be used at some point by an actor while filming a shooting scene with other actors and crew members. The crime of involuntary manslaughter was designed specifically for this type of circumstance."
According to an amendment to the criminal complaint, the charge of tampering with evidence involves an allegation of Gutierrez-Reed transferring "narcotics to another person with the intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of herself."
Defense attorney Jason Bowles has described Hutchins' death as a tragic accident and maintains Gutierrez-Reed committed no crimes. Newsmax reached out to Bowles for comment on the not guilty plea.
David Halls, the movie's safety coordinator and assistant director, pleaded no contest in March to a charge of unsafe handling of a firearm and received a suspended sentence of six months' probation.
Prosecutors dropped involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin in April after saying they encountered new evidence that complicated their investigation, leaving Gutierrez-Reed as the sole defendant.
The movie wrapped up production in May but a release date has not yet been set.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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