Attorneys seek to toss charge in separate case
Defense lawyers claiming ‘prosecutorial vindictiveness’ over firearm accusation
Defense attorneys for Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have filed a motion asking the court to dismiss a criminal charge accusing her of unlawful carrying of a firearm in a liquor establishment.
“The concepts of fairness, due process and constitutional rights to a fair trial have been wholly abandoned by the prosecution in this case in favor of getting a skin on the wall, through whatever means,” the motion says.
The fourth-degree felony charge, filed in November, is based on allegations Gutierrez-Reed brought a gun into a Santa Fe bar Oct. 1, 2021, about three weeks before cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died on set after being struck by a bullet that came from a gun being handled by Rust star and producer Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal.
Gutierrez-Reed also faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in connection with the shooting.
By most accounts, Hutchins’ death was caused by the mistaken commingling of live rounds and dummy ammunition on the set, which the prosecution characterized early in the case as reckless negligence that justified the filing of criminal charges against assistant director David Halls, Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed.
Halls pleaded no contest in March to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon as part of a deal that called for him to serve six months of probation.
The state later dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin “without prejudice,” meaning it could be refiled. That hasn’t happened — although prosecutors said in October new evidence that could implicate Baldwin would be presented to a grand jury — leaving Gutierrez-Reed the only person still facing charges in
connection with Hutchins’ death.
In their recent motion, her attorneys say the November charge illustrates “prosecutorial vindictiveness” and is part of the state’s continued campaign to make the now 25-year-old armorer the scapegoat for Hutchins’ death.
The charge should be dismissed for three reasons, her attorneys Jason Bowles and Todd Bullion argue in the motion filed Thursday afternoon:
◆ Special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis don’t have the authority to file the charge because it is unrelated to the Rust shooting, which they were hired to handle.
◆ Prosecutors filed the charge because Gutierrez-Reed refused to give up her right to remain silent in the case.
◆ The charges are based on a search of Gutierrez-Reed’s phone that exceeded the scope of her agreement with the Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Office, in which she agreed to allow her phone to be searched only for information related to the Rust shooting.
Morrissey declined to comment Friday. She wrote in a text message she and Lewis would file a response to the motion within a 15-day timeframe allowed by the court.
The latest charge, the motion says, “represents a misuse of taxpayer money” and includes a copy of a text message the defense attorneys claim proves prosecutors filed the the charge because their client declined to waive her right to remain silent.
In the message — which it appears Morrissey sent Bowles in September — the prosecutor seems to indicate she’ll go easier on Gutierrez-Reed if the armorer answers some questions about how the live rounds got on set but will file the additional charge if the armorer does not agree to talk.
“I certainly respect her right ... to stay silent, however if she were to come forward and answer some of these questions ... that would go a long way toward getting her a favorable resolution,” the text message says. “If she chooses not to ... I will proceed with the additional charges we spoke of.”
The motion also says prosecutors disclosed attorney-client communications taken from Gutierrez-Reed’s phone to a witness in the case, and related evidence should be suppressed as a result.
Gutierrez-Reed is scheduled to stand trial next month on the involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence charges.