Rust armourer’s conviction upheld in fatal set shooting

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A New Mexico judge has upheld an involuntary manslaughter conviction against a movie armourer in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film Rust.

Armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed asked a court to dismiss her conviction or convene a new trial, alleging that prosecutors failed to share evidence that could have cleared her.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer in her written order noted that the armourer’s attorneys did not establish that there was a reasonable possibility that the outcome of the trial would have been different had the evidence been available to Gutierrez-Reed.

The judge also rejected a request from Gutierrez-Reed that she be released from custody, saying it was moot because the request for a new trial was denied.

Marlow Sommer halted and ended Baldwin’s trial in July based on misconduct of police and prosecutors and their withholding evidence from the defence in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set outside Santa Fe.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for Rust, was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

A jury convicted Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter in March in a trial overseen by Marlowe Sommer, who later sentenced her to the maximum 18-month penalty. Gutierrez-Reed has an appeal of the conviction pending in a higher court. Jurors acquitted her of allegations she tampered with evidence in the Rust investigation.

Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of Rust and for failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.

Evidence that Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys said prosecutors failed to share included a report by a firearms expert about the functionality of the gun that Baldwin used, ammunition that was later turned in to authorities and an interview with Rust ammunition supplier Seth Kenney.

Defence lawyers did not immediately respond Monday to an email requesting comment on the judge’s decision.

Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to a separate felony charge that she allegedly carried a gun into a bar in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where firearms are prohibited. A proposed plea agreement is awaiting court review.

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