Alec Baldwin and 'Rust' Armorer Hannah Guiterrez-Reed Had A Joint Defense Agreement

It appears that the trial between Alec Baldwin and the state of New Mexico just got more complicated.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, the 66-year-old actor had entered into a joint defense agreement with Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Both were originally charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in January 2023. However, the charges against Baldwin were dropped in April and refiled in January 2024.

This led to a delay in Baldwin's trial, which is not scheduled to begin until July. It took a jury only three hours to find the rookie armorer guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who will preside over both trials, did not find her to be remorseful and sentenced her to the state maximum of 18 months behind bars.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Alec Baldwin had entered into a joint defense agreement with "Rust" armorer Hannah Guiterrez-Reed. The “30 Rock” actor had allegedly agreed to publicly state that he had never had any issues working with Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on set and that he did not believe that she created an unsafe environment on set.

In addition, the state of New Mexico wants to inspect whether or not there was any attorney-client privilege that may have been violated due to this new information coming to light. The 8-page filing sets the scene of Halyna Hutchins’ death, stating that Baldwin “failed to inspect the firearm” before rehearsing the scene.

The latest filing breaks down the sequence of events that led to Hutchins’ death, writing: “On October 21, 2021, during the filming of the movie Rust, Defendant Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, loaded a firearm, in part, with a live bullet. That firearm was then given to Defendant Alexander Rae Baldwin who, in turn, failed to inspect the firearm with Ms. Gutierrez-Reed. Mr. Baldwin subsequently pointed the gun at Halyna Hutchins, cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger, shooting and mortally wounding Halyna Hutchins.”

On December 1, 2021, less than two months after that incident occurred, prosecutors accused Baldwin of calling Jason Bowles, who is the attorney defending Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Without the counsel of his lawyers, Baldwin allegedly “stated that he would publicly state that during the filming of Rust, he never had any issues with Ms. Gutierrez and that he did not believe she was unsafe.”

In return, he asked that she and her team not “slam” him in public about statements that he made insisting that he did not pull the trigger.

In January 2024, shortly after charges were refiled against Baldwin, SAG-AFTRA released a statement coming to the actor’s defense. “To the extent that the charges filed on January 19 are based on an accusation of negligent use of a firearm predicated on this or any actor having a duty to inspect a firearm as part of its use, that is an incorrect assessment of the actual duties of an actor on set,” they began, emphasizing that it was not an actor’s duty to inspect a firearm for live ammunition.

“An actor’s job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert. Firearms are provided for use on set under the guidance of multiple expert professionals directly responsible for the safe and accurate operation of that firearm,” they continued, putting the blame on Hannah Gutierrez-Reed for the death of Halyna Hutchins.

In early March, Halyna Hutchins' mother, father, and sister made a statement through their attorney, Gloria Allred, who is representing the family in a lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and other "Rust" producers.

The statement began, "Halyna’s parents and her sister have always wanted everyone who is responsible for Halyna’s death to be held accountable," adding, "Today was the first trial and conviction in the criminal justice process. We are satisfied that the jury, based on the evidence, found Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for her part in the taking of Halyna’s life."

They went on to say, "We look forward to the justice system continuing to make sure that everyone else who is responsible for Halyna's death is required to face the legal consequences for their actions."