“Rust” Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed allegedly handed off her drugs to another person the day leading man Alec Baldwin mistakenly shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the Western film, according to a new court filing.
Gutierrez-Reed “did transfer narcotics to another person with the intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of herself,” the special prosecutors appointed to the case said. As a result, she faces a new charge of evidence tampering.
Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, slammed the move as “retaliatory and vindictive.”
“It is shocking that after 20 months of investigation, the special prosecutor now throws in a completely new charge against Ms. Gutierrez Reed, with no prior notice or any witness statements, lab reports, or evidence to support it,” Bowles said in a statement.
In January, both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly shooting on the “Rust” set. Director Joel Souza was wounded while Hutchins was fatally struck in the accidental gunfire on Oct. 21, 2021. She was prepping for a scene inside the Bonanza Creek Ranch, on the outskirts of Santa Fe, N.M. when she was shot with a prop gun handled by Baldwin.
In April, however, prosecutors announced that the charges against the 65-year-old actor were being dropped because “new facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis.” They noted though that their “decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled.”
The charges against Gutierrez-Reed however, remained in place.
Earlier this month, it was revealed the armorer was likely hungover when she loaded the prop gun involved in the shooting. In court documents filed in response to a request to have her charges dropped, special prosecutors said they had witnesses willing to testify that Gutierrez-Reed was “drinking heavily and smoking marijuana” in the evenings after production wrapped for the day.
In response, Bowles referred to the case as “fatally tainted” and again called for the involuntary manslaughter charges against his client to be dropped.
