Rust armorer accused of “likely” being hungover while loading gun
The defendant’s legal counsel has called the allegations “character assassination” and the result of a “mishandled” case
Aux News Gutierrez
Prosecutors in the Rust shooting case have formally accused armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed of “likely” suffering a hangover on the morning she loaded Alec Baldwin’s gun on the set of the indie film. Thinking the gun did not have live rounds in the chamber, Baldwin fired the weapon and killed cinematographer Halayna Hutchinson.
“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,” the filing states. “The crime of involuntary manslaughter was designed specifically for this type of circumstance. Defendant Gutierrez has a history of reckless conduct that has resulted in loss of human life, and it is in the public interest that she finally be held accountable.”
In what Gutierrez’s legal counsel describes as “character assassination,” the prosecution alleged that Gutierrez-Reed was “drinking heavily and smoking marijuana” while on the set of Rust, an example of “reckless” behavior that resulted in Hutchison’s death. Responding to the armorer’s petition for dismissal, prosecutors say that “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,” effectively pinning the tragedy on excessive alcohol the night before.
In a statement to IndieWire, the defense shrugged off these allegations. “The prosecution has so mishandled this case and the case is so weak that they are now resorting to character assassination tactics to further taint the jury pool,” said Jason Bowels. “This investigation and prosecution has not been about seeking Justice; for them, it’s been about finding a convenient scapegoat.”
The charges against actor Alec Baldwin were dropped in April, and for a time, it seemed as though Guiterrez-Reed’s would as well. She has pleaded not guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter.
18 Comments
Hmm.
“Defendant Gutierrez has a history of reckless conduct that has resulted in loss of human life”
Damn, who else is she responsible for killing?
According to the filing, she was civilly sued for giving her motorcycle keys to someone who was drunk, which led to a fatal accident.
But no gun in that one, right?
What were real bullets even doing on the set?!?
Reports at the time said crew members would take the props and use them for live ammo target practice. Supposedly the gun that ultimately killed Hutchinson was used for target practice that morning.
Ugh, goodness…
This. A total lack of any safety culture with guns. On a properly run set, those weapons would’ve been under lock and key and handled ONLY by the armorer, and the actor(s) using the weapon on set, to ensure a chain of custody. And even then, the gun’s barrel and chambers would be checked every time it changes hands. That Baldwin willingly accepted a gun from 1) someone who never should have been handling one (the assistant director) and 2) took it on faith that the gun was unloaded, goes to show how fucked this film set was. That guns were apparently lying around and being borrowed for target shooting and all kinds of antics between camera setups, just feels like the logical end conclusion of a profoundly mismanaged film production.
They chose the site to shoot the movie in large part for the reduced oversight that would normally have taken place. It might be a write-off film, created solely to deliver a claimable loss, so they needed it cheap and away from anyone from SAG dropping in.
The case she should have been storing the dummy and the blank rounds should have a lock for which she had the only key. All the dummy rounds should have been checked before going into that case and checked again coming out. The dummy rounds could have had plastic bullets painted to match. She should have had no live rounds at all; there was no need for live rounds. More important, the rounds should be handled by a second person immediately prior to loading them into the gun. I think that person should be the actor. Guns aren’t rocket science and if actors can take dance lessons, learn karate, learn to play an instrument, whatever, they can learn the difference between live ammunition and a dummy round. F’ Baldwin. He wanted to make a movie centered around his character’s use of guns to solve problems and has no excuse for ignoring how real guns can really kill people.
Which is wildly inappropriate and completely unprofessional. There are a host of people that should be on trial for this, and the charges are all well-deserved.
This is going to make all the Alec Baldwin haters sad.
Gutierrez-Reed certainly shares fault, but this whole thing reeks of a white-wash. That they had an incompetent armorer is merely a symptom of a far more systemic problem in terms of a total lack of safety culture engendered by the film’s producers including Alec Baldwin. It sickens me that they’ve managed to not only rescue this godforsaken motion picture, but they’re recast it as an effort to honor Halyna Hutchins by completing it. But make no mistake, nothing is worth the lost of Hutchins. If this film were The Godfather, it still wouldn’t be worth it. That the film is likely a piece of shit western that will be dumped onto Netflix, is just the rotting cherry on top of a shit sundae.
Was it wrong to finish the Twilight Zone movie?
Yes. That situation was even worse. Landis should’ve done hard time for multiple counts of manslaughter. Instead it all got swept under the rug. There was also conjecture that producer Steven Spielberg may have been on set, but they never were able to prove it.
I liked Joe Dante’s and George Miller’s segments.
Yeah, Landis deserved to go to prison for that. No movie is worth lives.
but they’re recast it as an effort to honor Halyna Hutchins by completing it.I mean, according to what I’ve read, her husband literally wants them to complete it. I find the whole thing kind of macabre, and I certainly don’t want to see it, but what are they gonna do? Tell the grieving widower no?