‘Rust’ Prosecutors Claim Armorer Handed Off a Bag of Cocaine After Halyna Hutchins’ Death

Alec Baldwin may have been cleared for his part in Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins‘ death, but the movie’s armorer is now facing another charge. According to prosecutors, Hannah Gutierrez Reed allegedly handed a bag of cocaine to another person the evening after the shooting, per Variety.

Last week, Gutierrez Reed — who was already facing an involuntary manslaughter charge for loading a live round into the gun — was charged with evidence tampering. Prosecutors allege that she interfered with the investigation into Hutchins’ October 2021 death by handing off the bag of drugs.

“The circumstances of the transfer of evidence strongly support the charge that the defendant transferred the cocaine to avoid prosecution and prevent law enforcement from obtaining highly inculpatory evidence directly related to the defendant’s handling of the firearm and the circumstances of the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins,” prosecutors said in a statement, per Variety.

They say they have a confidential witness that will testify that Gutierrez Reed passed along the bag of cocaine after returning from her police interview. However, they have filed motions to protect the witness’ identity as they fear they will be “blacklisted” from Hollywood for coming forward — something Gutierrez Reed’s lawyer, Jason Bowles, is opposing.

“The state wants to publish salacious allegations about Ms. Gutierrez Reed in a secret procedure, which is not condoned by the rules or constitution,” Bowles said, per Variety. “If the state really believes these allegations, why the secrecy?”

Prosecutors also claim that Gutierrez Reed was drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana in the evenings during production — and that she may have been hungover when the incident occurred.

Meanwhile, Baldwin — who fired the gun that killed Hutchins during a rehearsal for the Western film — had both of his involuntary manslaughter charges dropped earlier this year.

“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin, and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” his attorneys said in a statement at the time, per Deadline.

Last month, Baldwin celebrated as he finished filming Rust nearly two years after his legal troubles began.

“It’s been a long and difficult road. But we reach the end of the trail today,” he captioned an Instagram post. “Congratulations to Joel, Bianca and the entire cast and crew. Nothing less than a miracle.”