'Rust' Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Claims She Was Denied Additional Gun Training 

The state is looking to continue its investigation into the shooting of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021.

Although charges against actor Alec Baldwin, who fired the gun, were filed in January 2023 and dropped in April 2023, special prosecutors revealed that it is still possible that he may face charges as they continue their investigation.

It seems that they are closer than ever to making a decision as they continue to build their case against “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. The rookie armorer’s trial was initially scheduled for December 2023 but will now take place on February 21, 2024.

In the latest development in the “Rust” case, special prosecutors are trying to determine why Hannah Gutierrez-Reed might have been denied additional gun training and how the “motive” for that decision might play a factor in her criminal case.

On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, The Blast received new court documents filed by the state of New Mexico over a protective order and a subpoena. The court documents state that "Baldwin was a producer on the show and heavily involved in the development of the script and other aspects of the film, and was personally involved in firearms training provided by Ms. Gutierrez." Although the court documents refer to Baldwin as a producer on "the show" it is clear that they are talking about his involvement in the Western film, directed and written by Joel Souza.

In the court filing, it goes on to say that, "Ms. Gutierrez alleges she made requests for additional armorer days and for additional time to provide gun handling training to Mr. Baldwin," meaning that the "Rust" armorer had requested additional days to train Alec Baldwin on how to handle a firearm and was denied. "Ms. Gutierrez asserts that it is her belief these requests were denied for financial/budgetary reasons," the document adds.

"This is an appropriate line of inquiry for the State to explore by reviewing the agreements between Mr. Baldwin and the various production companies to determine whether there were financial or other considerations involved in the decision to deny Ms. Gutierrez to work additional armorer days and/or provide additional training days to Mr. Baldwin," the court filing states. "For example, Mr. Baldwin's agreements likely require that he receive a certain amount of compensation for each day filming or for each day performing tasks related to filming, such as firearm training."

The state of New Mexico says that it "should be permitted to explore" if Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's requests for additional firearm training were "denied due to financial considerations" and "not due to safety or other reasonable considerations." The State claims that the "motives" at play in the decision to deny the armorer training time are important to her criminal case as it determines how it may have affected the armorer's ability to perform her job.

"Similarly, Mr. Baldwin's contracts may provide that he receive a percentage of the profits from the movie, again demonstrating that financial gain may have impacted Ms. Gutierrez's ability to perform her job as an armorer," the documents state. "As this Court is aware, the special prosecutors have a duty to investigate potentially exculpatory evidence, and as to Ms. Gutierrez, if it is proven true, it is exculpatory."

As The Blast previously reported, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s legal team tried to get the charges against her dismissed after the armorer made headlines earlier this summer for a new charge of tampering with evidence.

Although she was initially charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Halyna Hutchins in January 2023, she was later charged with evidence tampering after she allegedly transferred a bag of cocaine to another individual on the “Rust” set while police were conducting their investigation into Hutchins’ death.

Gutierrez-Reed’s legal team tried to get the charges against her dismissed, claiming that the headlines around the new charge could taint a potential juror pool. However, District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer disagreed and did not feel that the public’s opinion would be swayed by what had information already been released by the media.

After failing to get the charges dismissed, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed entered her not guilty plea on August 7. Her statement read: “After reading and understanding the above, I hereby give up my right to personally appear before the District Court for arraignment and I hereby enter a plea of not guilty to all criminal offenses charged in the above styled cause.”