Dad of convicted ‘Rust’ armorer reacts to Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter case being dismissed
“Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s father said his daughter’s involuntary manslaughter conviction should be overturned after Alec Baldwin’s case — on the same charge — was tossed by a judge Friday.
“Well, I think that’s good,” Thell Reed, 81, told the DailyMail of the stunning end to Baldwin’s case, which was thrown out when a New Mexico justice ruled prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defense.
“I think Hannah’s case should also be dismissed,” the legendary Hollywood armorer told the outlet.
Reed’s daughter was sentenced in April to 18 months behind bars for bringing to set the bullets that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
“There’s a lot of evidence that hasn’t been heard at all. They suppressed all the important evidence and I guess [Baldwin’s] attorneys brought it out,” said Reed.
Gutierrez-Reed, 27, was slated to testify in Baldwin’s trial Friday before the judge paused proceedings to investigate the defense’s argument that the prosecution withheld evidence.
The evidence in question was ammunition that was dropped off at the sheriff’s office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins’ killing.
The judge sent the jury home early Friday after lawyers for the “30 Rock” star filed a motion to dismiss the case, claiming that live ammunition related to Hutchins’ 2021 shooting was “concealed” from them.
Prosecutors argued the ammunition didn’t match others found on the set — but defense lawyers found that some had the same engravings as those used for the film. Others looked like inert dummy rounds that had been taken into evidence.
Gutierrez-Reed, who inadvertently loaded the rounds into the Colt .45, had already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter when the ammunition was brought in.
“It should [be grounds for an appeal]. She didn’t do anything wrong. They’ve absolutely made her a scapegoat,” Reed told the DailyMail.
Gutierrez-Reed is already in the process of appealing her conviction, which found her guilty failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.
Prosecutors said she handed the loaded gun to Baldwin, who pointed it at Hutchins during a rehearsal. The Emmy-winning star claimed he cocked the hammer but did not pull the trigger on the weapon.
Director Joel Souza, 51, was also injured in the incident.
Gutierrez-Reed said at her sentencing hearing that she had tried to do her best on the set despite not having “proper time, resources and staffing.”
Gutierrez-Reed was acquitted of an evidence tampering charge at trial, and still confronts separate court proceedings on allegations she carried a firearm into a bar in downtown Santa Fe.
She is currently serving her sentence at the women-only Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility.
