‘Rust’ Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Sentenced After Fatal Shooting

Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been sentenced after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Gutierrez-Reed, 26, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday, April 15.

Gutierrez-Reed got emotional as she addressed the judge to ask for probation before her sentencing was announced.

“My heart aches for the Hutchins family and friends. … Helena has been and always will be an inspiration to me. I understand she was taken too soon and I pray that you all find peace,” she said. “My heart goes out to the film industry for the devastating pain that this tragedy caused. …When I took on Rust, I was young and I was naive, but I took my job as seriously as I knew how to do. Despite not having proper time, resources and staffing, when things got tough, I just did my best to handle it.”

Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for the firearms on the New Mexico set of Rust. In October 2021, a gun held by Alec Baldwin was discharged during a rehearsal for the Western film. Although the weapon was not supposed to be loaded with live ammunition, a bullet was fired, killing 42-year-old Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

Gutierrez-Reed was charged in January 2023 with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of tampering with evidence for allegedly handing off a bag of cocaine following her police interview after the shooting. She pleaded not guilty to both charges.

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Gutierrez-Reed’s trial began in February, and the following month, she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not guilty of tampering with evidence. Her attorney Jason Bowles said at the time that Gutierrez-Reed planned to appeal the conviction.

Hutchins’ family reacted to the ruling in March. “Halyna’s parents and her sister have always wanted everyone who is responsible for Halyna’s death to be held accountable,” their attorneys Gloria Allred and John Carpenter said in a statement to Us Weekly at the time. “Today was the first trial and conviction in the criminal justice process. We are satisfied that the jury, based on the evidence, found Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for her part in the taking of Halyna’s life.”

The statement concluded: “We look forward to the justice system continuing to make sure that everyone else who is responsible for Halyna’s death is required to face the legal consequences for their actions.”

Juror Alberto Sanchez told reporters after the trial that the jury reached a “fair” verdict. “Someone died,” Sanchez said. “You gotta take responsibility. Especially when you’re handling weapons and you’re in charge of those. That’s your job.”

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Shortly before Gutierrez-Reed’s sentencing, prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis filed Gutierrez-Reed’s recorded jail phone conversations where she was heard calling the jurors “idiots” and “assholes.” Gutierrez-Reed also said she wanted Baldwin, 66, to serve prison time and that she wouldn’t testify at his criminal trial if subpoenaed.

Morrissey and Lewis argued that the phone conversations show why Gutierrez-Reed should not receive the conditional discharge that her lawyers are seeking. The prosecutors noted in their filing that Gutierrez-Reed’s conversations with her mom, boyfriend and her attorney’s paralegal demonstrate her “complete and total failure to accept responsibility for her actions.”

Baldwin is still awaiting his July trial after being charged with involuntary manslaughter for a second time in January. He has pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence since the tragic incident.

“The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them. Never,” Baldwin told George Stephanopoulos in December 2021. “I have no idea [how a bullet got in there]. Someone put a live bullet in a gun. A bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”

Prior to Gutierrez-Reed’s trial, first assistant director David Halls, who handed the gun to Baldwin before the shooting, pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation.