‘Rust’ armorer sentenced to jail for on-set shooting

SANTA FE: Hannah Gutierrez, the chief weapons handler for the Western movie “Rust,” was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was shot when actor Alec Baldwin was handling a gun during the film’s production in 2021.

In March, Gutierrez, 27, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for mistakenly loading a live round into a revolver Baldwin was using on a Santa Fe, New Mexico, movie set.

The shooting, which stunned Hollywood, is believed to be the first time in modern times that a member of a film crew or cast was killed by a live round accidentally loaded into a gun.

Baldwin’s trial is set for July 10 ater a grand jury indicted him on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in January.

Gutierrez, step-daughter of Hollywood gun trainer Thell Reed, was sentenced by New Mexico District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer.

Gutierrez’s lawyer Jason Bowles had requested she be given probation, but prosecutors argued for a full 18 months due to lack of contrition.

Prosecutor Kari Morrissey pointed to phone calls by Gutierrez from jail in which she said the jurors were “idiots,” the judge had been “paid off,” and she continued to blame Baldwin and others for the shooting.

Gutierrez had already spent a month in Santa Fe county jail following her conviction.

On March 6, a Santa Fe jury took less than two hours to find her guilty. One juror aterwards said Gutierrez had not done her job to ensure weapons safety on set.

Hutchins’ death initially prompted US film and television productions to stop using real firearms and blank ammunition. Two and a half years later, many are using them again because of the realistic effects they produce, according to armorers.

Hutchins was fatally shot when Baldwin pointed his gun at the cinematographer and cocked the weapon as she set up a scene. During Gutierrez’s three-week trial, prosecutors accused her of unknowingly bringing live Colt .45 rounds onto the set of the low-budget movie, something that has been strictly forbidden for nearly a century under Screen Actors Guild safety guidelines.