Gunsmith ‘Rust’ manslaughter conviction upheld in fatal shooting – National

A New Mexico judge on Monday upheld the manslaughter conviction against a movie gunsmith in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alex Baldwin on the set of the western “Rust”.

Gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has asked a court to vacate his manslaughter conviction or convene a new trial in the shooting death, alleging misconduct and suppression of evidence by law enforcement.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer interrupted and ended Baldwin’s trial in July due to police and prosecutors’ misconduct and their withholding of evidence from the defense in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set outside of Santa Fe.

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Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Shooting Charges Dismissed by Judge

Gutierrez-Reed was convicted by a jury in March in a trial overseen by Marlowe Sommer, who later sentenced her to the maximum sentence of 18 months. Gutierrez-Reed has already appealed his manslaughter conviction to a higher court.

Prosecutors accused Gutierrez-Reed of unintentionally bringing live ammunition to the set of “Rust” and failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.

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Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers argued that her case should be reconsidered because prosecutors failed to share evidence that could have been exculpatory.

She was acquitted at trial on allegations that she tampered with evidence in the “Rust” investigation. Gutierrez-Reed also pleaded not guilty to another felony charge that she carried a gun into a bar in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where guns are banned. A proposed plea agreement is pending review by the court.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of “Rust,” was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a film set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and injuring the director Joel Souza.