'Rust' Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Sentenced to 18 Months for Death of Halyna Hutchins

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Celebrity | April 16, 2024 |

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Celebrity | April 16, 2024 |

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the movie set weapons handler on the Western Rust, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. Gutierrez-Reed was the armorer in charge of the film’s guns, and she was in charge of loading the one that fired and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Gutierrez-Reed, who is 26 years old, had been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March (although she was also found not guilty of the charge of tampering with evidence.) The 18-month charge is the maximum possible sentence for this charge in the state of New Mexico. While giving the sentence, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said to the defendant: ‘You alone turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon. But for you, Ms Hutchins would be alive. A husband would have his partner, and a little boy would have his mother.’

During the trial, the prosecution had described Gutierrez-Reed as ‘negligent’ and ‘thoughtless,’ failing to do her job when she overlooked how several live bullets had mixed with dummy rounds in a box of ammunition on set. They assert that Gutierrez-Reed had failed to ensure the weapon was only loaded with dummy rounds, leading to Hutchins’ death.

Before she was sentenced, Gutierrez Reed addressed the court, saying through tears, ‘The jury found me guilty; that does not make me a monster. That makes me human.’ Judge Sommer added, ‘I did not hear you take accountability.’ Hutchins’ mother, who is based in Kyiv, said in a recorded message that nobody had reached out to her to express condolences for her daughter’s death.

In July, actor Alec Baldwin, who was holding the gun that killed Hutchins, faces charges of manslaughter. He will go to trial in July. He has pleaded not guilty.