‘Rust’ Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Found Guilty In Less Than Three Hours

Earlier today, the jury reached a verdict in the trial of "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed., who had been facing two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of tampering with evidence in connection with the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

This trial is separate from the criminal charges currently being faced by actor Alec Baldwin, who was holding the gun in the fatal shooting that took place in a church in New Mexico on October 21, 2021. His trial is currently scheduled for July 9, 2024.

After less than three hours, the jury found “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Halyna Hutchins.

She was acquitted of a separate charge of tampering with evidence. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ordered Gutierrez-Reed to remain in custody. She faces up to 18 months in prison at her sentencing.

During opening statements, the prosecution had called Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s behavior on set “sloppy” and “unprofessional,” going on to say that it was her “negligent acts and failures” that led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

A dolly grip by the name of Ross Addiego testified to two accidental discharges that took place on set over the course of one hour, stating that such discharges are “not common” on other film sets. Addiego went on to say that she was not “as serious or professional as I’m accustomed to” and believed that guns should be kept “under lock and key.”

The rookie armorer, who had only worked on two film sets, was accused of leaving weapons unattended on a prop cart. John Ziello, who worked as a grip on set, echoed Addiego’s safety concerns. “It seemed wrong,” he said, adding, “Anyone could have done anything to those weapons.”

Director Joel Souza took the stand to recall the moments that transpired as Halyna Hutchins was shot. Souza had been standing behind Hutchins and recalled how it felt like someone had “taken a baseball bat to my shoulder,” in testimony transcribed by NBC News.

He said that “nothing made sense” after the shooting but distinctly remembers looking up at Gutierrez-Reed, who was standing over him saying, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Joel.” After he got to the hospital, medical staff informed him that he had been shot by a bullet. However, he noted that he “could not compute” how live ammunition had ended up on his film set.

During cross-examination, Souza recalled first assistant director David Halls saying that the gun was “cold,” meaning that it did not have live ammunition. Last Thursday, Dave Halls took the stand and began to cry when he recalled Hutchins saying, “I can’t feel my legs” shortly after she had been shot.

Last year, Halls, who also served as the film’s safety coordinator, pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation. When asked why he agreed to testify – as it was not a part of the plea agreement, Halls said, “It’s important to me that the truth be known, that Halyna’s husband, son, and family know the truth of what happened.”

Sarah Zachry, the film’s prop master, said that she only brought one box of dummy rounds to the “Rust” set and did not know how live ammunition ended up on a movie set. Just after the shooting took place, she admitted that she took the live rounds out of the gun and “threw them away in a state of shock and panic,” going on to call it “a reactive decision.”

She told the jury that she told investigators that she had thrown away the rest of the live ammunition about one month after the shooting. She went on to admit that she did talk with her colleagues about wanting to fire Hannah Gutierrez-Reed at one point in filming, as she was not satisfied with her performance.

The defense team consistently pointed to Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s role as both an armorer and a props assistant throughout the trial, noting that she was too distracted between her two duties in order to sufficiently oversee the weapons on set. They also tried to pin the blame on "Rust" producers, who attempted to finish filming as quickly and cheaply as possible.

The "Rust" movie was completed in spring 2023; however, no release date has been announced.