A film weapons supervisor was sentenced to 18 months in jail within the deadly taking pictures of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western movie Rust, at a sentencing listening to Monday in a New Mexico state court docket.
Movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March by a jury on a cost of involuntary manslaughter within the demise of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and has been held for greater than a month at a county jail on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for Rust, was pointing a gun at Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has pleaded not responsible to a cost of involuntary manslaughter within the taking pictures demise of Halyna Hutchins. He is scheduled for trial in July at a courthouse in Santa Fe.
The sentence towards Gutierrez-Reed was delivered by New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Summer who’s overseeing proceedings towards Baldwin.
Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing reside ammunition onto the set of Rust the place it was expressly prohibited and for failing to observe fundamental gun security protocols. After a two-week trial, the jury deliberated for about three hours in reaching its verdict.
Gutierrez-Reed teared up Monday as Hutchins’ agent, Craig Mizrahi, spoke concerning the cinematographer’s creativity and described her as a rising star in Hollywood. He stated it was a series of occasions that led to Hutchins’ demise and that had the armorer been doing her job, that chain would have been damaged.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed sitting in between lawyer Jason Bowles and paralegal Carmella Sisneros at her sentencing on April 15, 2024.
EDDIE MOORE / JOURNAL/POOL/AFP by way of Getty Images
Friends and household, together with Souza, advised the court docket they had been in search of justice for what had occurred to the cinematographer. They stated she was “a bright beam of light,” describing her as brave, tenacious and compassionate.
Los Angeles-based lawyer Gloria Allred learn an announcement by Hutchins’ mom, Olga Solovey, who stated her life had been break up in two and that point didn’t heal, quite it solely extended her ache and struggling. A video of a tearful Solovey, who lives in Ukraine, additionally was performed for the court docket.
“It’s the hardest thing to lose a child. There’s no words to describe,” Solovey stated in her native language.
Defense attorneys for Gutierrez-Reed requested leniency in sentencing — together with a potential conditional discharge that may keep away from additional jail time and depart an adjudication of guilt off her report if sure situations are met.
Gutierrez-Reed was acquitted at trial of allegations she tampered with proof within the Rust investigation. She additionally has pleaded not responsible to a separate felony cost that she allegedly carried a gun right into a bar in Santa Fe the place firearms are prohibited.
Defense attorneys have highlighted Gutierrez-Reed’s comparatively younger age “and the devastating effect a felony will have on her life going forward.”
They say the 26-year-old will endlessly be affected negatively by intense publicity related along with her prosecution in parallel with an A-list actor, and has suffered from anxiousness, concern and melancholy in consequence.
FILE – In this picture taken from video launched by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, Alec Baldwin speaks with investigators following a deadly taking pictures on the ‘Rust’ film set in Santa Fe, N.M.
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office by way of AP, File
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey urged the choose to impose the utmost jail sentence and designate Gutierrez-Reed as a “serious violent offender” to restrict her eligibility for a sentence discount later, describing the defendant’s habits on the set of Rust as exceptionally reckless.
Morrissey advised the choose Monday that she reviewed practically 200 cellphone calls that Gutierrez-Reed had created from jail over the past month. She stated she hoped there could be a second when the defendant would take duty for what occurred or specific real regret.
“That moment has never come,” Morrissey stated. “Ms. Gutierrez continues to refuse to accept responsibility for her role in the death of Halyna Hutchins.”
Rust assistant director and security coordinator Dave Halls final yr pleaded no contest to negligent dealing with of a firearm and accomplished a sentence of six months unsupervised probation. Rust props grasp Sarah Zachry, who shared some duties over firearms on the set of Rust, signed an settlement with prosecutors to keep away from prosecution in return along with her cooperation.
FILE – This aerial picture reveals the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021, used for the movie “Rust.”
Jae C. Hong / The Associated Press
Written testimonials in favor of leniency included letters from Gutierrez-Reed’s childhood good friend and romantic companion Sean Kridelbaugh, who stated Gutierrez-Reed cries continually out of regret within the taking pictures and that additional incarceration would intrude with efforts to take care of a relative with most cancers. Other mates and former colleagues urged the choose to emphasise rehabilitation over punishment within the sentencing.
The pending firearms cost towards Gutierrez-Reed stems from an incident at a bar in downtown Santa Fe, days earlier than she was employed to work because the armorer on Rust. Prosecutors says investigations into the deadly taking pictures led to discovery of a selfie video through which Gutierrez-Reed filmed herself carrying a firearm into the bar, whereas protection attorneys allege vindictive prosecution.
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