“Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed has accepted a plea deal for sneaking a gun into a New Mexico bar while in that state filming the ill-fated movie.
She will be sentenced to 18 months probation for the guilty plea, Variety reported.
Gutierrez Reed, 27, is serving an 18-month prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after she was convicted in March, as CrimeOnline reported. As the set armorer, Gutierrez Reed was responsible for the prop guns used in the movie and, the jury found, was responsible for a live round loaded into the gun handled by actor and producer Alec Baldwin on the set that day in 2021.
Baldwin was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, but the judge tossed the case as the trial got under way because prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be refiled.
Gutierrez Reed’s attorneys are seeking to have her conviction overturned on similar grounds, Variety said, and a hearing is set for September 26 on that motion. If the motion is granted and a new trial ordered, the attorneys have also asked that she be freed from prison for the duration.
The attorneys had filed a motion to dismiss the gun charge, which accuses Gutierrez Reed of bringing a gun in the Matador bar in Santa Fe about three weeks before the fatal shooting. The defense had argued that the charge was vindictive and that the special prosecutor had no authority to bring the charge since it wasn’t related to the movie set shooting.
But on Wednesday, the hearing was cancelled and Gutierrez Reed’s attorneys asked for a hearing next week to enter the guilty plea.
