‘Rust' Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed Released on Parole After 14 Months
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film armorer convicted of manslaughter in the 'Rust' shooting, was released on parole Friday after serving 14 months in prison.
Gutierrez Reed, 28, served her sentence at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility. She was released Friday morning and ordered to go to Bullhead City, Ariz., where she lives. Her attorney, Jason Bowles, declined to comment on the release out of respect for her privacy.
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Gutierrez Reed was found to have acted with criminal negligence when she loaded a live bullet into Alec Baldwin's gun on the Western set near Santa Fe, N.M., in October 2021. Baldwin was holding the gun when it fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin — who denied pulling the trigger — was also put on trial for involuntary manslaughter last July, but the case was dismissed after the judge learned that prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defense. The Santa Fe district attorney abandoned an appeal of that ruling in December, after the state attorney general declined to pursue it.
Gutierrez Reed was convicted at a trial in February and March 2024. Prosecutors alleged that the shooting was part of a pattern of sloppy and unprofessional behavior, including allowing actors to wave guns around and failing to maintain 'muzzle discipline.'
The defense argued that Gutierrez Reed could not have anticipated that a box of inert dummy rounds had been contaminated with a handful of similar-looking live bullets. The defense also alleged that the production was to blame for cutting corners and for requiring her to do the job of two people.
Dummy rounds typically contain a few BBs that rattle when shaken. Prosecutors argued that had she shaken all of the rounds before loading them into Baldwin's gun, she would have discovered that one did not rattle. The prosecution also alleged that Gutierrez Reed was responsible for bringing the live rounds on set, though the source of the rounds was heavily disputed.
Gutierrez Reed was sentenced in April 2024 to 18 months in prison, the maximum term for involuntary manslaughter. Until her parole expires next year, she is barred from buying, selling or possessing firearms. She is also ordered to undergo a mental health assessment and to obtain work or enroll in school within 45 days.
Her case remains on appeal, as the defense alleged numerous errors by the trial judge. She separately pleaded guilty to a charge of bringing a gun into a bar, which did not add to her prison time. Several civil cases also remain pending.
David Halls, the first assistant director who was responsible for set safety, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent handling of a firearm. He was given six months of unsupervised probation and no prison time. He has since retired from the industry.
'Rust' was completed in Montana more than a year after the shooting. It was given a limited release on May 2, grossing just $25,000 in 115 theaters.
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