“Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 27, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in a Santa Fe, New Mexico, court on Monday in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was shot when actor Alec Baldwin was handling a gun during the film’s production in 2021. Prosecutors sought the maximum penalty of 18 months in state prison.
Gutierrez-Reed, the chief weapons handler for the Western movie, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month after mistakenly loading a live round into the revolver Baldwin was using on the movie set. Following Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction, the judge ordered her to be held in police custody pending her sentencing. Per Reuters, the shooting is believed to be the first time in modern times that a member of a film crew or cast was killed by a live round accidentally loaded into a gun.
Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for the firearms on the New Mexico set of Rust. In October 2021, a gun held by Alec Baldwin was discharged during a rehearsal for the Western film. Although the weapon was not supposed to be loaded with live ammunition, a bullet was fired, killing 42-year-old Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Gutierrez-Reed was charged in January 2023 with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of tampering with evidence for allegedly handing off a bag of cocaine following her police interview after the shooting. She pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Gutierrez-Reed, who was dressed in a khaki prison uniform, wiped away tears as she was sentenced by New Mexico District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. She cried as she addressed the court asking for probation, saying (per US Weekly): “My heart aches for the Hutchins family and friends. … Helena has been and always will be an inspiration to me. I understand she was taken too soon and I pray that you all find peace. My heart goes out to the film industry for the devastating pain that this tragedy caused. …When I took on Rust, I was young and I was naive, but I took my job as seriously as I knew how to do. Despite not having proper time, resources and staffing, when things got tough, I just did my best to handle it.”
Baldwin’s trial is set for July 10 after a grand jury indicted him on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in January.
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