Armourer for Alec Baldwin movie Rust convicted in deadly on-set shooting of cinematographer
CBC
A jury convicted a movie weapons supervisor of involuntary manslaughter on Wednesday in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal on the set of the Western movie Rust.
The verdict against movie armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed assigns new blame in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021 after an assistant director last year pleaded no contest to negligent handling of a firearm. The proceedings are a preamble to a scheduled trial of Baldwin in July on a single charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on Rust, was indicted by a grand jury in January on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He pleaded not guilty ahead of the proceedings, which are scheduled to begin in July.
He was pointing a gun at Hutchins on the movie set outside Santa Fe, N.M., when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
Prosecutors at a two week trial alleged Gutierrez-Reed unwittingly brought live ammunition onto the set of Rust while flouting basic industry gun-safety guidelines.
Gutierrez-Reed, who was 24 years old and on her second feature film as armourer at the time of the 2021 shooting, pleaded not guilty at the trial held in downtown Santa Fe.
Immediately after the verdict was read out in court, the judge ordered the now-26-year-old placed into the custody of deputies. Lead attorney Jason Bowles said afterward that Gutierrez-Reed will appeal the conviction, which carries a penalty of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 US fine.
Santa Fe-based state district court Judge Mary Marlowe Somer did not immediately set a sentencing date.
Messages seeking comment about Wednesday's verdict from Baldwin's spokesperson and a lawyer were not immediately returned.
In closing arguments, prosecutor Kari Morrissey described "constant, never-ending safety failures" on the set of Rust and Gutierrez-Reed's "astonishing lack of diligence" with gun safety.
"We end exactly where we began — in the pursuit of justice for Halyna Hutchins," Morrissey told the jury.
"Hannah Gutierrez failed to maintain firearms safety, making a fatal accident willful and foreseeable."
Prosecutors contend the armourer repeatedly skipped or skimped on standard gun-safety protocols that might have detected the live rounds.
"This was a game of Russian roulette every time an actor had a gun with dummies," Morrissey said.
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