Prosecutors in the case of the death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins have alleged that armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was likely to have been hungover on the day she loaded the fateful prop gun discharged by Alec Baldwin that contained a live round.
A Friday (June 9) filing with a New Mexico court came in response to a petition by Gutierrez-Reed’s legal team to dismiss charges of involuntary manslaughter.
Prosecutors said: “It is likely that Defendant Gutierrez was hung over 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.”
Prosecutors added that the armourer had a history of behaving recklessly at work.
Baldwin discharged the gun during rehearsal on set in New Mexico on October 21, 2021, resulting in the eventual death of Hutchins.
In a statement to press Jason Bowles, the attorney for Gutierrez-Reed, said: “The prosecution has so mishandled this case and the case is so weak that they are now resorting to character assassination tactics to further taint the jury pool.
“This investigation and prosecution has not been about seeking justice; for them it’s been about finding a convenient scapegoat.”
Gutierrez-Reed is scheduled to attend a preliminary hearing in August to determine whether there is sufficient cause to proceed.
In their Friday filing prosecutors also said they expect a decision in the next two months on whether to charge Baldwin again after involuntary manslaughter charges against him were dropped in April pending further investigation.
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