‘Rust’ armorer’s involuntary manslaughter conviction upheld in fatal shooting

globalnews.ca:

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

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed asked a court to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter conviction or convene a new trial in the shooting death, alleging misconduct and suppression of evidence by law enforcement.

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

Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury in March in a trial overseen by Marlowe Sommer, who later sentenced her to the maximum 18-month penalty. Gutierrez-Reed already has an appeal of her involuntary manslaughter conviction pending in a higher court.

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

Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys argued that her case should be reconsidered because prosecutors failed to share evidence that might have been exculpatory.

She was acquitted at trial of allegations she tampered with evidence in the “Rust” investigation. Gutierrez-Reed also 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.

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 in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel