‘Rust’ Prosecutors Claim Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Was Hungover On Set

Criminal charges against Alec Baldwin were dropped in April, but "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is continuing to fight two charges of involuntary manslaughter for her role in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins that occurred at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico on October 21, 2021.

The charges against the "30 Rock" actor were dismissed without prejudice as the two new special prosecutors, who signed onto the case only weeks before dropping charges against the actor, continue their investigation. That means that the actor can be charged again for his role in Hutchins' death.

According to new court documents, witnesses have come forward to say that Gutierrez-Reed was a "party animal" and that she was "likely" hungover while loading the gun Baldwin was holding for the scene, which contained live bullets.

According to new court documents first obtained by TMZ, the Santa Fe District Attorney claims that they have witnesses who will testify that the "Rust" armorer "was drinking heavily and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the shooting of Rust."

They even go as far as to claim that, despite being possibly hungover, she still put a live round "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."

Her attorney, Jason Bowles, later issued a statement to TMZ, saying, "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."

Jason Bowles previously spoke to TMZ and claimed that it was really first assistant director, Dave Halls, who is culpable in the fatal incident. He claims that Gutierrez-Reed asked Halls to let her know when Baldwin was ready to handle the gun so she could inspect it and give him proper safety instruction on how to hold it. However, Gutierrez-Reed claims that she never inspected the gun because Halls never told her they were ready to start filming.

Several witnesses have already confirmed that Halls declared that it was a “cold gun” before giving it to Baldwin, which means that the gun did not contain any live ammunition. Halls pleaded guilty to the charge of the negligent use of a firearm and is facing probation, not jail time, for his role in Hutchins’ death.

Bowles claims that Gutierrez-Reed was also spread too thin on set and had asked for more time to focus on weapons, only to be turned down. He alleges that she sent an email to the production team asking to step back from her role as props master to focus on her armory duties. He says her request was declined.

That being said, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed might have some defense if armorer Scott Rasmussen agrees to testify on her behalf. The armorer, who has worked with stars like John Travolta and Sam Elliot, told KRQE News that he had been asked to work as the armorer on the film set.

“I felt comfortable with doing it until I read the script and it was a lot of guns everywhere throughout the show,” he said in March 2023. “So, I felt it would be safer for me just to be the armorer on the show.”

“She said ok, great. We’ll get back to you Monday about that position, and they never got back to me,” he said, noting that they went with someone else who had much less experience to take on both jobs: Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

“I wholeheartedly believe they saw that I had the experience so they probably assumed that I’d be wanting an arm and a leg and so, they go with somebody that they got for a relatively cheap price,” he said, adding, “They decided to save a few pennies here and there and we, unfortunately, had a bad accident happen.”

In late May, the 65-year-old actor took to Instagram to share a photo of two of his costars posing together in their Western period attire for a final scene. “Last day of filming RUST in Montana. Sorry that I did not get to work with this living legend, the great @francesfisher. Patrick, I envy you,” he wrote in the caption, referring to costar Patrick Scott McDermott.

“It’s been a long and difficult road. But we reach the end of the trail today. Congratulations to Joel, Bianca, and the entire cast and crew,” he added, referring to cinematographer Bianca Cline, who is best known for her work in “Marcel The Shell With Shoes On.” Cline agreed to step in as the new cinematographer to finish production and is reportedly donating her salary to charity.

Baldwin concluded his caption by calling the film's finished production “Nothing less than a miracle.”