Prosecution Paints Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed As Cavalier on Rust Set

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed in court. Photo: Eddie Moore/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will go on trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, over the 2021 fatal Rust shooting, facing an involuntary manslaughter charge. The film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, died on-set after Alec Baldwin allegedly fired a prop gun loaded, unwittingly, with live ammo, also injuring director Joel Souza. Assistant director David Halls allegedly passed Baldwin the gun to practice his scene, and Santa Fe prosecutors have claimed that Gutierrez-Reed, 26, failed to properly review the ammunition in the gun. They have also accused her of allowing live ammunition on-set.

Baldwin, who is also charged in Hutchins’s death, is set to face trial at a later date. Both have pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter counts against them. Here, what we know about the prosecution’s case against Gutierrez-Reed as her trial enters its second week.

Who is Hannah Gutierrez-Reed?

Prior to the Rust tragedy, Gutierrez-Reed was an up-and-coming armorer who came into the industry through her stepfather, legendary Hollywood armorer Thell Reed. While Thell was frequently away from their Bullhead City, Arizona, home working, he was largely responsible for raising her, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Those familiar with Gutierrez-Reed describe her as an ambitious theater kid and academic achiever in high school, per the report. Thell eventually brought Gutierrez-Reed to sets and taught her about firearms. She studied film at Northern Arizona University and graduated in 2020. Gutierrez-Reed’s coursework included cinematography and lighting-design classes, as she wanted to become a cinematographer, per the outlet.

Gutierrez-Reed had just a handful of other film gigs on her résumé before Rust. She worked as a costume assistant on the 2020 film Millennium Bugs, according to IMDb. She worked as Thell’s assistant on the western Murder at Yellowstone City. Gutierrez-Reed’s big break came shortly thereafter with another western, Nicholas Cage’s The Old Way. Per The Hollywood Reporter, this was her first armorer job that she landed without her stepdad. Gutierrez-Reed’s Old Way colleagues reportedly had mixed sentiments about her work. Per The Wrap, key grip Stu Brumbaugh said that she angered Cage and others on-set because she allegedly failed to abide gun-safety protocols, such as announcing that weapons had arrived and were being used on the set. Brumbaugh claimed he told the assistant director she’s a rookie and needed to be let go.

What allegedly happened on the Rust set?

On October 21, 2021, Baldwin “discharged” a prop firearm on the Bonanza Creek Ranch film set, resulting in Hutchins’s death and injuries to Souza. It was said that assistant director Halls allegedly handed the gun to Baldwin. In court papers further detailing this incident, prosecutors said that Gutierrez-Reed loaded a .45 long Colt caliber revolver and loaded it before a lunch break. She took the gun and locked it in a safe that was in the prop truck. Prosecutors allege that she didn’t abide safety protocol requiring the unloading and proper storage of rounds that appear to be real, but are actually “dummies,” before locking up the revolver. Prosecutors claim that after lunch, she didn’t conduct a safety check of the gun before giving it to Halls, marking the “third time” Gutierrez-Reed did “not properly, or to industry standards and safe practices, clear and show safe the weapon and rounds.” Halls, meanwhile, entered a no-contest plea to negligent use of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation, ABC News reported.

Right before the tragedy, Hutchins and Souza were standing in front of Baldwin, where they were rehearsing camerawork for a scene. Baldwin, who was wearing a shoulder holster with the revolver in it, was “practicing drawing and pointing the weapon.” Baldwin drew the gun and, prosecutors allege, fired the weapon, striking Hutchins and Souza. Prosecutors insist that the scene required only dummy rounds and not blank rounds. But the bullet recovered from the scene appeared to be “live ammunition,” not a dummy round. Prosecutors insist that Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for everything firearm related on the Rust set, including safety and training, and contend that as a result, Hutchins’s death and Souza’s injury fall on her shoulders.

What are the charges against her in the Rust shooting?

Gutierrez-Reed is charged with involuntary manslaughter. This charge alleges that Hutchins’s death was caused with the “commission of an unlawful act, to wit: negligent use of a deadly weapon.” She is also charged with evidence tampering.

What have prosecutors said about Gutierrez-Reed in the trial so far?

In their opening statement on Thursday, prosecutors argued that Gutierrez-Reed was squarely to blame for the circumstances leading to Hutchins’s death — including the fact that live rounds were on the Rust set. Gutierrez-Reed failed to conduct a safety check of the rounds when she took it out of the safe following lunch, and failed to do a check with she handed the weapon to Halls, prosecutor Jason Lewis alleged. “By failing to make those vital safety checks, the defendant acted negligently and without due caution,” Lewis said. “The decisions she made that day ultimately contributed to Ms. Hutchins’s death.” Lewis told jurors that they would hear from Gutierrez-Reed’s colleagues who, he claimed, would show her cavalier behavior. “We intend to call several witnesses to give testimony that she regularly failed to properly carry out her duties as an armorer. These witnesses are going to describe the defendant’s conduct as unprofessional and sloppy.” Lewis ended his closing by citing Gutierrez-Reed’s own words in an interview with law enforcement after the shooting. “She says at the end: ‘I just I don’t know. I wish I would have checked it,’” Lewis said. “And so do we.”

Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer, Jason Bowles, said during his opening statement that the production was rife with safety issues and that they’re wrongly shifting the blame to her. “Just because there was a tragedy does not mean that a crime was committed. It does not mean that Hannah Gutierrez really caused the crimes they have charged her with,” Bowles said. “We’re going to, through the course of this case, show you that production and the state have both very early sought to make Hannah Gutierrez-Reed a scapegoat.” He said that a series of events happened leading up to the tragedy, including the fact that Baldwin was holding the gun that fired the fatal round. “The actor pointed a gun on that set. And he either had his finger on the trigger and the hammer cocked, or he pulled the trigger, as he was pointing that at Miss Hutchins and Mr. Souza, who was right behind.” He described the set organization as “highly unusual,” and said that it was the production’s fault — not Gutierrez-Reed’s. “What they tried to do, and what you’re seeing in this courtroom today, is trying to blame it all on Hannah, the 24-year-old, because, why?” he said. “Because she’s an easy target. She’s the least powerful person on that set.”

What else can we expect?

The prosecution is expected to use witness testimony, cell-phone data, and Gutierrez-Reed’s interview with police at the trial, Court TV said. It appears that the prosecution will also bring up alcohol and drug use, including the evening before the incident, contributing to her alleged negligent and reckless behavior, according to USA Today. If jurors find her guilty of involuntary manslaughter, she faces a maximum 18-month prison sentence, per the Los Angeles Times. Gutierrez-Reed’s defense is expected to place the blame on Baldwin and negligent set-safety conditions.

What is Baldwin’s role in the trial?

Legal experts believe that the Gutierrez-Reed trial will give Baldwin’s defense a boost when he is tried, likely early this summer, as it will show prosecutors’ plan. “Either way, the Gutierrez-Reed trial is a win-win for Baldwin. If Gutierrez-Reed is convicted, Baldwin’s lawyers will argue that she was solely responsible for Hutchins’s death. If she is acquitted, Baldwin’s attorneys will still get a preview of the testimony and evidence that will come in at trial,” said Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers. “Prosecutors have botched this case for many reasons, but putting the Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin cases on different timelines is a mistake. The conventional wisdom is that prosecutors are better off trying co-defendants together, and the district attorney’s office lost this advantage because of its own lack of preparation.”

Who has the prosecution called so far to testify?

The prosecution’s case so far has been painting Gutierrez-Reed as cavalier with safety precautions on a set that was already prime for disaster. On Monday, February 26, the prosecution called dolly grip Ross Addiego to testify about Gutierrez-Reed; he described her behavior on set as unprofessional. Addiego said there had been several accidental discharges on set, something he didn’t recall happening during other productions. “She wasn’t necessarily as serious or professional as I am accustomed to with the other armorers that I’m familiar with,” Addiego told jurors, per Variety. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an armorer pull loose ammo out of a fanny pack.” He alleged that Gutierrez-Reed left ammo and firearms unsecured and claimed she was not “uptight” like other armorers he had worked with in his 30 years in film. Addiego also claimed that he’d expressed safety concerns with Halls previously and that “Mr. Halls ignored me and walked away.” He also said that production was “rushed” with a set that was in a “state of chaos,” according to the report. Prosecutors’ case continues this week as they continue to call witnesses.