- ‘Rust’ armorer Hannah Gutierrez has shown no ‘genuine remorse’ for deadly shooting in jail calls, prosecutors claim ABC News
- Prosecutors ask ‘Rust’ movie armorer be sentenced to maximum sentence of 18 months in prison CNN
- ‘Rust’ Armorer’s Jail Calls Show Lack of Remorse, State Argues Variety
- ‘Rust’ Armorer’s GoFundMe Shut Down for Violating Rules Against Raising Money for Legal Defense of “Violent Crimes” Hollywood Reporter
- ‘Rust’ armorer, facing Monday sentencing, seeks conditional discharge Santa Fe New Mexican
Tag Archives: Armorer
‘Rust’ armorer Hannah Gutierrez’s trial begins with each side arguing over safety on set – ABC News
- ‘Rust’ armorer Hannah Gutierrez’s trial begins with each side arguing over safety on set ABC News
- Rust armourer on trial after Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins BBC
- ‘Rust’ Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s “Unprofessional & Sloppy” Conduct Caused Halyna Hutchins’ Death, Prosecutor Tells Jury In Trial Opening Day Deadline
- ‘Rust’ armorer on trial in Alec Baldwin’s shooting case The Associated Press
- Jury Seated in ‘Rust’ Trial as Opening Statements to Begin Thursday Variety
Alec Baldwin and armorer to be charged with involuntary manslaughter after fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of ‘Rust’
CNN
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Actor Alec Baldwin, who fatally shot a cinematographer on the set of the Western movie “Rust” in 2021, and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said Thursday.
The family of Halyna Hutchins, who was the film’s director of photography, thanked prosecutors for their decision.
“It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law,” the family said in a statement released by attorney Brian J. Panish.
Baldwin has maintained he was not aware the gun he fired during a rehearsal contained a live round. His attorney called the prosecutors’ decision “a terrible miscarriage of justice.”
“This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice. Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set,” attorney Luke Nikas said.
“He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.”
Live updates: Alec Baldwin to be charged in fatal ‘Rust’ shooting
An attorney for Gutierrez Reed said he believes jurors will find his client not guilty.
“We were expecting the charges but they’re absolutely wrong as to Hannah – we expect that she will be found not guilty by a jury and she did not commit manslaughter,” attorney Jason Bowles said in a statement Thursday.
“She has been emotional about the tragedy but has committed no crime.”
Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed each face two counts of involuntary manslaughter so that a jury can decide which specific count may be more appropriate, New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said.
If convicted, “they will only be sentenced to one count,” the prosecutor said.
In either case, a conviction is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine, prosecutors said.
But one count would involve a firearm enhancement, or added mandatory penalty, because a firearm was involved. In that case, the crime could be punishable by a mandatory five years in jail, prosecutors said.
The district attorney said she believed “Rust” had a “really fast and loose set,” citing “a lack of safety and safety standards” and “live rounds on set – they were mixed in with regular dummy rounds.”
“Nobody was checking those, or least they weren’t checking them consistently,” Carmack-Altwies said.
“And then they somehow got loaded into a gun, handed off to Alec Baldwin; he didn’t check it, he didn’t do any of the things that he was supposed to do to make sure that he was safe or that anyone around him was safe. And then he pointed the gun at Halyna Hutchins and he pulled the trigger.”
Hutchins was struck and killed by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun being held by Baldwin, who maintains he did not pull the gun’s trigger.
Director Joel Souza was also shot and injured. No charges will be filed against Souza in relation to the shooting.
In the summary of the postmortem investigation into Hutchins’ death – which was formally signed by the New Mexico chief medical investigator – the cause of death is listed as “gunshot wound of chest,” and the manner of death is listed as an “accident.”
“Review of available law enforcement reports showed no compelling demonstration that the firearm was intentionally loaded with live ammunition on set. Based on all available information, including the absence of obvious intent to cause harm or death, the manner of death is best classified as accident,” the report concluded.
An FBI forensics report said the weapon could not be fired during FBI testing of its normal functioning without pulling the trigger while the gun was cocked. The report also noted the gun eventually malfunctioned during testing after internal parts fractured, which caused the gun to go off in the cocked position without pulling the trigger.
The shooting has led to a whirlwind of finger-pointing and allegations of negligence from those involved.
In an interview with CNN in August, Baldwin placed responsibility for the tragedy on Gutierrez Reed, who served as the armorer and props assistant on the film, and assistant director Dave Halls, who handed him the gun.
Halls signed a plea agreement “for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon,” the district attorney’s office announced in its statement Thursday. Prosecutors said the terms of that deal include six months of probation.
On Thursday, Halls’ attorney Lisa Tarraco released a statement in defense of her client, who does not face charges in connection with the tragedy.
“Absent no charges at all, this is the best outcome for Mr. Halls and the case,” Tarraco said. “He can now put this matter behind him and allow the focus of this tragedy to be on the shooting victims and changing the industry so this type of accident will never happen again. “
In November, Baldwin filed suit against Gutierrez Reed and Halls and other individuals associated with the film, according to a cross-complaint obtained by CNN.
Through their respective attorneys, both Gutierrez Reed and Halls maintained they were not at fault and accused Baldwin of deflecting blame onto others.
Gutierrez Reed also sued the movie’s gun and ammunition supplier and its founder – who deny wrongdoing – and alleged a cache of dummy ammunition was sold with live rounds mixed in.
In October, Hutchins’ family reached an undisclosed settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Baldwin and others involved in producing the film.
Matthew Hutchins, widower of Halyna Hutchins, described her death as a “terrible accident” in a statement at the time of the settlement. Production on “Rust” was to resume this month with Matthew Hutchins joining as an executive producer on the film as part of the agreement.
‘Rust’ movie armorer: Alec Baldwin pointed gun ‘against all rules and common sense’
“Mr. Baldwin knew that he could never point a firearm at crew members under any circumstances and had a duty of safety to his fellow crew members,” Gutierrez Reed said.
“Yet he did point the gun at Halyna before the fatal incident against all rules and common sense.”
Baldwin’s version of the moments that led up to the fatal shooting last October in New Mexico included an arbitration demand filed by Baldwin’s lawyer and obtained by CNN. In it, Baldwin claimed he asked Hutchins if he should cock the gun and that she told him to do it.
Gutierrez Reed said Baldwin and others on the set of a church “had a duty and responsibility to call Hannah in for inspection of the gun and safety instruction before any gun scene was conducted.”
“Hannah was not called into the Church before the impromptu gun scene rehearsal and she should have been,” the statement said.
Gutierrez Reed said she had no knowledge of what was happening inside the church set that day and Baldwin was responsible for helping maintain the safety of the crew.
In Balwin’s filing, the actor said he asked Hutchins whether she wanted to see him cock the gun, as the script required — and that she said yes.
“Baldwin tipped the gun down somewhat so that the lens of the camera would be able to focus on his hand’s action on the top of the gun,” the filing said.
“While performing this action, Baldwin asked Hutchins, ‘Am I holding it too far down?’ and ‘Do you see that?’ Hutchins responded that she could see Baldwin’s action from her angle. Baldwin then pulled back the hammer, but not far enough to actually cock the gun. When Baldwin let go of the hammer, the gun went off.”
In a statement, attorneys for Hutchins’ family accused Baldwin of “trying to avoid liability and accountability for his reckless actions.”
“Baldwin’s disclosure of personal texts with Matt Hutchins is irrelevant to his demand for arbitration and fails to demonstrate anything other than Hutchins’ dignity in his engagement with Baldwin,” the family statement said.
“It is shameful that Baldwin claims Hutchins’ actions in filing a wrongful death lawsuit derailed the completion of ‘Rust.’ The only action that ended the film’s production was Baldwin’s killing of Halyna Hutchins.”
The actor’s legal filing Friday included numerous text messages between Baldwin and Hutchins’ husband following the shooting.
The filing also said since October Baldwin had “offered comfort and support to Matthew Hutchins and his son, as well as constructive input towards a settlement of the case.”
“He has worked extensively to find ways to help Hutchins and his son,” Baldwin’s filing said. “It is that same spirit that renders Baldwin reluctant to contradict some of Matthew Hutchins’ public statements. Unfortunately, given the nature of Hutchins’ accusations against Baldwin, he has no choice.”
The court document also claimed when Baldwin arrived on the New Mexico set, he underwent a training session with Gutierrez Reed and he understood from that session he did not need to check the gun for live ammunition.
“Reed did not instruct Baldwin to check the gun himself. In fact, she told Baldwin that it was her job to check the gun — not his,” the document said.
“Similarly, Baldwin believed, based on prior gun safety training he received on movie sets, that actors should not unilaterally check guns for live ammunition. If actors want to check a gun for their own peace of mind, they should only check the gun with the armorer closely supervising the process. In other words, actors may jointly inspect a gun with the armorer, but never on their own.”
But Gutierrez Reed, in her statement Saturday, said she encountered “constant resistance” from Baldwin and production staff during her time on the set.
“Hannah emphasized the importance of training Mr. Baldwin in the cross draw, which is dangerous,” the statement said. “He never accepted the offer and Hannah was not able to conduct that training as well as other training she wanted to do, because of budgeting and being overruled by production.”
CNN has sought comment from a representative for Rust Movie Productions LLC.
CNN’s Ray Sanchez contributed to this report.
‘Rust’ armorer accuses supplier of selling her dummy ammunition with live rounds mixed in before deadly on-set shooting, lawsuit says
In the complaint filed Wednesday in the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Gutierrez Reed accuses PDQ Arm and Prop, LLC. and its founder Seth Kenney of violation of trade practices, false and deceptive product labels, and false and material misrepresentations after, Gutierrez Reed alleges, Kenney sold her a cache of dummy ammunition with live rounds mixed in.
Hutchins was fatally shot October 21 by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal for a scene in the movie being filmed at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe. Director Joel Souza was injured in the shooting.
The scene was going to show Baldwin cocking the gun, and he and Hutchins were going over how she wanted to position his hand right before the gun went off, the actor told ABC last month.
Kenney and his company “sold, distributed, and advertised its props as dummy ammunition and not live rounds,” the complaint said. “Hannah relied upon and trusted that Defendants would only supply dummy prop ammunition, or blanks, and no live rounds were ever to be on set.”
The complaint includes allegations that Kenney attempted to “direct” the criminal investigation into Hutchins’ death in a way that cast blame on Gutierrez Reed and included screenshots of text messages between the pair showing they had a “fallout.”
Gutierrez Reed also includes allegations in the suit that insinuate wrongdoing by several others involved in the set, including Baldwin, prop master Sarah Zachry and assistant director Dave Halls.
CNN has reached out to Zachry, PDQ Arm and Prop. LLC., Kenney, Baldwin, and an attorney for Halls for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Gutierrez Reed wasn’t called to re-inspect the gun, lawsuit says
The complaint includes a detailed timeline of Gutierrez Reed’s account of the day of the shooting, including the moments leading up to the church scene when the weapon fired.
Attorneys for Gutierrez Reed have previously theorized in interviews that there was “sabotage” behind the fatal discharge, and in the suit, they note a period of about five minutes when the gun was left unattended by Zachry and an assistant who had been tasked with watching it.
In the suit, Gutierrez Reed says she loaded six rounds into the gun herself and inspected the weapon in front of Halls, showing him the chamber loaded with what she believed were dummy rounds. Halls, in her account, said he would be “sitting in” with the gun, “meaning the gun wasn’t going to be used at all since this wasn’t a scene or rehearsal.”
Gutierrez Reed says Halls broke protocol by not calling her back to set when Baldwin arrived and took possession of the gun. The complaint states that she asked Halls to let her know when Baldwin came back so she could re-inspect the weapon.
“Her point was that if plans were to change for use of the gun to be more than just ‘sitting in’ status, Hannah needed to be called back into the Church,” the complaint reads.
The complaint also claims Baldwin never responded to Gutierrez Reed’s request to attend a “cross draw training” on October 15, days before the shooting.
“Had Hannah been called back in, she would have re-inspected the weapon, and every round again, and instructed Baldwin on safe gun practice with the cross draw, as was her standard practice on set,” according to the complaint.
“Hannah would never have let Baldwin point the weapon at Halyna, as part of standard safe gun practices. Apparently, no one inside the Church stopped Baldwin from doing so, including AD Halls,” the suit says.
‘Rust’ Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed Backs Up Lawyers’ “Sabotage” Claims – Deadline
Hours after a charged Today appearance by her lawyers postulating that the October 21 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by Alec Baldwin may have been the result of “sabotage”, Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed is now pouring fuel on the still theoretical fire.
“Never in a million years did Hannah think that live rounds could have been in the ‘dummy’ Round box,” said the latest statement from the crew member at the center of the deepening police probe of what went so terribly wrong on the $7 million budgeted Western. “Who put those in there and why is the central question,” added the comments released in Gutierrez Reed’s name through the office of criminal defense attorney Jason Bowles.
“Hannah did everything in her power to ensure a safe set. She inspected the rounds that she loaded into the firearms that day,” the second such statement from the armorer in as many weeks went on to say. “No one could have anticipated or thought that someone would introduce live rounds into this set.” (read the full statement below)
Over three executed search warrants since the tragic shooting of Hutchins and the injuring of director Joel Souza last month, the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office have found “500 rounds of ammunition … a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and what we are suspecting are live rounds,” according to Sheriff Adan Mendoza. The most recent search by detectives hauled in more weapons and ammunition – including at least one live .45 caliber round found in the Rust prop truck and its lock box.
In a previous statement late last week, Gutierrez Reed’s lawyers said that the armorer had “no idea where the live rounds came from.”
Early Wednesday morning from Las Vegas with fellow lawyer Robert Gorence sitting beside him, Bowles told a sometimes-incredulous Savannah Guthrie that “the person who put the live round in the box of dummy rounds had to have the purpose of sabotaging the set.”
While not naming names, the ex-Assistant U.S. Attorney implied pretty heavily on Today that “disgruntled” former camera crew members may have had something to do with that live round appearing where it shouldn’t have been. Hours before the killing of Hutchins, several members of that team resigned from Rust citing safety and financial reasons. On a media tour this morning, Bowles doubled down on Good Morning America: “Why would you do that other than to try to cause some incident on the set? Now, we’re not saying anybody had any intent there was going to be a tragedy — a homicide — but they wanted to do something to cause a safety incident on set. That’s what we believe happened.”
The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to request for comment on the attorney’s beliefs or Gutierrez Reed’s latest statement. On CNN tonight, former Rust crew member Lane Loper disputed the sabotage theory, calling it a “dangerous and irresponsible theory to put out on TV.”
Lamenting that she was hired as a props assistants as well as armorer on Rust, Gutierrez Reed confirmed in her statement of October 28 that there were two other incidents of a weaponing mistakenly discharging on the set before October 21. A third occasion also seems to have occurred too.
In the cop spotlight along with Gutierrez Reed, First Assistant Director David Halls admitted to the Sheriff’s Office that he did not properly check the 1880s-era gun before declaring it a “cold gun” and handling it to star/producer Baldwin for the “quick draw” rehearsal that went so wrong. Like the armorer, Halls retained a New Mexico criminal defense attorney last week.
Halls was fired from a previous film because of gun safety lapses and was not rehired over personal misconduct complaints on a 2019 Blumhouse TV project.
No one has been arrested or charged over the Rust shooting, yet.
However, nearly two weeks after Hutchins died, the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office’s investigation continues. In that vein, First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies seemingly stands by her remark of October 27 that “no one has been ruled out” when it comes to possible charges
Clearly, with Hutchins’ family today hiring L.A.-based firm Panish Shea Boyle Ravipudi, which specializes in personal injury and wrongful death litigation, Gutierrez Reed and Halls are trying to get ahead of the eventual police report by planting doubt in case of trial
They are seemingly not the only ones.
After a disastrous Vermont roadside exchange with reporters on October 30 where he called Rust a “well-oiled” movie before the shooting, Baldwin on November 2 reposted a long Facebook tirade by Terese Magpale Davis in which the Rust costume designer exclaimed that claims of “unsafe, chaotic conditions” on the movie “are bullsh*t.”
Rust’s producers essentially shuttered the film on October 26 and the same day hired a high-profile law firm Jenner & Block to run “an investigation of the events.” Potentially facing a lawsuit themselves, the producers have also brought on board a crisis PR team, and have informed crew members that Jenner & Block attorneys will join them for interviews with OSHA.
Read the entire latest statement from Hannah Gutierrez Reed and her lawyers here:
Hannah Gutierrez Reed would like to add a few points to the continuing narrative on the tragic events surrounding the shooting on the Rust set. First, Hannah was incredibly safety conscious and took her job very seriously from the moment she started on October 4th. She did firearms training for the actors as well as Mr. Baldwin, she fought for more training days and she regularly emphasized to never point a firearm at a person. Never in a million years did Hannah think that live rounds could have been in the “dummy” Round box. Who put those in there and why is the central question. Hannah kept guns locked up, including throughout lunch on the day in question, and she instructed her department to watch the cart containing the guns when she was pulled away for her other duties or on a lunch break. Hannah did everything in her power to ensure a safe set. She inspected the rounds that she loaded into the firearms that day. She always inspected the rounds. She did again right before handing the firearm to Mr. Halls, by spinning the cylinder and showing him all of the rounds and then handing him the firearm. No one could have anticipated or thought that someone would introduce live rounds into this set.
‘Rust’ Armorer Says She Had “No Idea Where The Live Rounds Came From – Deadline
Having lawyered up with a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and been called out in public by Santa Fe’s Sheriff, the armorer on the film that saw cinematographer Halyna Hutchins fatally shot by Alec Baldwin has spoken out for the first time.
Disputing tales of after-hours target practice, Hannah, Gutierrez also confirmed two previous weapons discharges on the troubled set of Rust.
“Safety is Hannah’s number on priority on set,” said attorneys Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence in a statement released for their client Gutierrez late tonight about Rust “Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from.”
“Hannah still, to this day, has never had an accidental discharge,’ her lawyers claim in their statement tonight. Pulling back the veil on Rust, which saw several members of the camera crew resign before the shooting last week due to safety and financial concerns, Gutierrez’s lawyers double down on the unsafe set. “The first one on this set was the prop master and the second one was a stunt man after Hannah informed him his gun was hot with blanks”
No timeline is given by Gutierrez’s attorneys on when these discharges happened, but we know a lot about when and how the shooting of Hutchins and director Joel Souza
Minutes before Hutchins was shot, Baldwin was told by First Assistant Director that the 1880s-set long Colt .45 revolver was a “cold gun” when the weapon was handed to the Rust star/producer on the afternoon of October 21. However, the fatal result of the “quick draw” rehearsal, that also saw Souza wounded, appears to have come from at least “one live round,” as Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told the media on October 27, while detailing the ongoing police investigation.
“We identified two other people that handled and or inspected the loaded prior to Baldwin firing the weapon,” Sheriff Mendoza noted on Wednesday. “These two individuals are armorer Hannah Reed-Gutierrez and Assistant Director David Halls. All three individuals have been cooperative in the investigation and have provided statements.”
While Halls admitted in a October 27 filed affidavit from the police that he didn’t properly check the gun in question that day, Gutierrez insists she had “checked the ‘dummies’ and made sure they were not ‘hot” rounds’” in the gun.
Under scrutiny and with First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies telling the world “all options are on the table – no one has been ruled out,” both Halls , who had been fired from at least one previous film for a weapon going off unexpectedly, and Gutierrez retained New Mexico criminal defense attorneys.
In the expectation of such possible future legal moves by Santa Fe’s top prosecutor as the police probe continues, Gutierrez’s legal team have begun planting their version of her narrative of events, circumstances, and responsibilities on Rust.
“Hannah was hired on two positions on this film, which made it extremely difficult to focus on her job as an armorer,” Bowles and Gorence state, not revealing what the other gig was. “She fought for training, days to maintain weapons and proper time to prepare for gunfire but ultimately was overruled by production and her department.”
First reported by MSNBC’s Yasmin Vossoughian on Thursday night, the statement from the Albuquerque attorneys on behalf of the self-declared “falsely portrayed” Gutierrez moves to put the blame of the tragedy on the low-budget Western on Rust’s producers. “The whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including lack of safety meetings,” the statement adds “Rhnot [sic] the fault of Hannah.”
“Along with expressing Gutierrez’s “deepest and most sincere condolences to the family and friend of Halyna,” the sometimes awkwardly worded statement seeks to partially pours cold water on the rumor that weapons intended for Rust were being used for target practice and the likes afterhours.
“Hannah and the prop master gained control over the guns and she never witnessed anyone shoot live rounds with these guns nor would she permit that,” the tactical statement exclaims. “They were locked up every night and at lunch and there’s no way a single one of them was unaccounted for or being shot by crew members.”
Rust was the second feature that Gutierrez worked on as an armorer.
Previously, the daughter of seasoned Tinseltown armorer Thell Reed served in the role on the Nicolas Cage film The Old Way. Crew members on that as yet unreleased Brett Donowho directed gunslinger movie have spoken to several media outlets about Gutierrez ignoring or disregarding gun safety protocols.
Having told Deadline earlier this week that more search warrants are likely come, the Santa Fe Sheriff’s office has also said that their investigation of what occurred on Rust will go on “a while.”
Leaning into that, Gutierrez’s attorneys say they “will have more to say soon. Hannah and her legal team will address more of these rumors and the whole incident in an upcoming statement next week,”