Prosecutors Allege 'Rust' Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed 'Transferred' Cocaine On Day Of Shooting

"Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is facing new charges from prosecutors following the October 21, 2021 incident that led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Actor Alec Baldwin had been rehearsing a scene inside a church in New Mexico when the gun discharged, striking Hutchins and director Joel Souza. Souza was hospitalized in the incident but managed to recover and return to finish production on "Rust," which wrapped in early May.

Although the "30 Rock" actor returned to finish his scenes, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed did not, as the film no longer used working weapons while it wrapped production. Although her preliminary hearing was postponed until August, special prosecutors are continuing to find new evidence against the armorer, including drug charges.

In new court documents, special prosecutors allege that the armorer handed cocaine to another person on the afternoon that Halyna Hutchins was killed. Last week, Gutierrez-Reed was charged with evidence tampering for allegedly transferring the drugs to another person. Prosecutors allege that the action interfered with the investigation into Hutchins’ passing.

Last week, it was known that the “Rust” armorer was facing new charges due to the drug allegations; however, it was not revealed what narcotics she allegedly had in her position. According to NBC News, the armorer “handed a bag of cocaine to another person.” It is not known how much of the drug she allegedly had in her possession, or how much she transferred.

In a motion filed Thursday, June 30, special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis claim that they were able to find a confidential witness who will testify under oath that Gutierrez-Reed gave the drugs to someone after returning from her first interview with police.

“The circumstances of the transfer of evidence strongly support the charge that the defendant transferred the cocaine to avoid prosecution and prevent law enforcement from obtaining highly inculpatory evidence directly related to the defendant’s handling of the firearm and the circumstances of the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins,” the prosecutors wrote in the court filing.

The “Rust” special prosecutors are currently seeking an order to protect the identity of the witness, who fears being “blacklisted” from the film industry if his identity is revealed. However, the armorer’s attorney, Jason Bowles, strongly opposes that request.

“The state wants to publish salacious allegations about Ms. Gutierrez-Reed in a secret procedure, which is not condoned by the rules or constitution,” Bowles wrote in an email. “If the state really believes these allegations, why the secrecy?”

Although the special prosecutors admitted that the identity of the witness will most likely be revealed in time, they said that their source wants to remain anonymous for as long as possible.

Jason Bowles has been vocal about defending his client in the press and has slammed the new cocaine allegations about his client as "retaliatory and vindicate." In a statement made to TMZ, Bowles said, “Something is rotten in Denmark. It is shocking that after 20 months of investigation, the special prosecutor now throws in a completely new charge against Ms. Gutierrez Reed, with no prior notice or any witness statements, lab reports, or evidence to support it.”

"This comes on the heels of the state letting its lead investigator go, and the investigator raising serious concerns about the investigation in an email,” he continued. “This stinks to high heaven and is retaliatory and vindictive.”

Prosecutors previously alleged that Gutierrez-Reed had been “drinking heavily and smoking marijuana” on the "Rust" set. “Witnesses in the current case will testify that Defendant Gutierrez was drinking heavily and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the shooting of Rust,” the prosecutors wrote.

“It is likely that Defendant Gutierrez was hungover when she inserted a live bullet 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,” they added.

In a response to the allegations, Bowles states that the prosecution “did not remotely get the facts right” and found it “very interesting” that the charges against the armorer “now belatedly surface” a year and a half after the investigation began.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will make her first court appearance on the new tampering with evidence charge on July 19. She will appear virtually via Google Meets. The preliminary hearing is still scheduled on August 9 and will last aobut a week.