‘Rust’ Armorer Was Allegedly Hungover Prior to On-Set Shooting, Prosecutors Claim

Prosecutors allege that Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed “heavily” drank alcohol and smoked marijuana the night before a prop gun on the film set was discharged and resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers previously sought to have the involuntary manslaughter charge against the armorer dropped, but a response by Santa Fe prosecutors — filed last week and obtained by Rolling Stone — detailed why they believe Gutierrez-Reed should face the charges, even as others have either reached plea deals or had the charges dropped.

“Ms. Gutierrez is not being selectively prosecuted.  She is being appropriately prosecuted because her primary function as an armorer on the Rust movie set was to ensure gun safety,” prosecutors wrote. “Her reckless failure resulted in the senseless death of another human being. All Defendant Gutierrez needed to do was shake every bullet and make sure it rattled before putting it in the gun — she failed and killed someone.” 

Prosecutors also claimed that “witnesses in the current case will testify that Defendant Gutierrez was drinking heavily and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the shooting of Rust. It is likely that Defendant Gutierrez was hung over when she inserted a live bullet into a gun that she knew was going to be used at some point by an actor while filming a shooting scene with other actors and crew members.”

Additionally, prosecutors mapped out “a history of reckless conduct that has resulted in loss of human life,” noting how Gutierrez-Reed was once sued for lending her motorcycle to an intoxicated person, resulting in an accident that caused someone else’s death. 

“It is in the public interest that she finally be held accountable,” prosecutors wrote, adding of the Rust charges, “The crime of involuntary manslaughter was designed specifically for this type of circumstance.”

Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, told The Associated Press of the charges, “The case is so weak that they now have chosen to resort to character assassination claims about Hannah. The prosecution has abandoned the idea of doing justice and getting to the actual truth apparently.”

Gutierrez-Reed’s next hearing is scheduled for August, at which time a judge will determine whether the state has sufficiently proven the charges are worthy of trial.

Alec Baldwin, who was holding the firearm that killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza, had the charges against him dropped in April; prosecutors had 60 days to decide whether to re-charge the actor. Assistant director Dave Halls also entered a plea of no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.