Breaking: ‘Rust’ Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Gets Shocking 18-Month Prison Sentence!

Hannah Gutierrez, the person in charge of weapons on the set of the film “Rust”, was sentenced by a New Mexico judge to a maximum prison term of 18 months on Monday. This comes after her involvement in the unintentional shooting and killing of the movie’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, which occurred roughly 2½ years ago in New Mexico.

Gutierrez, 26, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a Santa Fe, N.M., jury in March. Hutchins was killed during a scene rehearsal when actor Alec Baldwin accidentally fired his prop gun, which was directed at her. Prosecutors have asserted that Gutierrez is responsible for bringing live ammunition to the set and loading it into Baldwin’s firearm.

During a heart-rending sentencing hearing on Monday, held in the same Santa Fe courtroom where Gutierrez’s trial took place, Hutchins’ friends praised her joy, generosity, determination, and talent. They spoke of her rising career in the film industry and expressed their grief over her passing. Testimonies from her family in Ukraine emphasized the significant loss felt by her loved ones and fellow filmmakers.

Gutierrez, clad in a prison outfit, broke down in tears at several points during Monday’s hearing. She pleaded with the judge for probation instead of jail time for her felony conviction. She expressed sorrow for Hutchins’ family and friends, but contested the manner in which she has been depicted by special prosecutors and the media.

“I am upset by the media’s dramatization of our distressing tragedy and their portrayal of me as a complete monster. This is far from the truth,” Gutierrez told the judge. “I was inexperienced when I signed onto ‘Rust,’ but I carried out my duties to the best of my abilities.”

However, New Mexico First Judicial District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer remained unmoved, stating that Gutierrez has shown little regret, including during her recent jail phone calls that were recorded and shared with special prosecutors.

“You were the weapons handler, the barrier between a safe weapon and a deadly one,” Marlowe Sommer said to Gutierrez. “You alone transformed a safe weapon into a lethal one. If it were not for you, Ms. Hutchins would still be alive, a husband would still have his wife, and a child would still have his mother.”

Marlowe Sommer then ordered the bailiff to escort Gutierrez to prison, concluding the 90-minute hearing.

The tragic shooting in October 2021 cast a harsh spotlight on safety measures on film sets, particularly those with low budgets. The case garnered global attention, largely due to Baldwin’s prominence in Hollywood and his politically polarizing status. Baldwin has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter and his trial is set for July in Santa Fe. He has pleaded not guilty.

Gutierrez and her team have consistently argued that she has been unjustly held accountable for the accident, maintaining that others are equally responsible for the safety lapses on set. Hours before the fatal shooting, “Rust” camera crew members had staged a walkout due to safety concerns and inadequate housing near the film’s location.

Gutierrez was relatively inexperienced, with “Rust” being only her second job as head armorer. She was also given the role of prop assistant.

During the hearing on Monday, her stepfather, renowned Hollywood armorer Thell Reed, placed the blame on the prop master and the weapons provider. He disputed the claim made by prosecutors that his stepdaughter brought live ammunition to the film set located south of Santa Fe.

Several speakers emphasized the unsafe conditions on the “Rust” set.

“It is the film producers’ responsibility to ensure that the cast and crew members they hire are adequately experienced to handle their jobs,” said Hutchins’ agent, Craig Mizrahi, during the televised hearing on Monday.

“When the producers hired someone with virtually no experience to be both the armorer and assistant prop master, two very challenging roles, they made a critical decision to compromise the safety of their cast and crew,” said Mizrahi.

Gloria Allred, a well-known victims’ rights attorney, was present to read statements from Hutchins’ family in Ukraine. She is representing them in a civil lawsuit against Baldwin and other producers. Numerous speakers, including the film’s director, Joel Souza, who was wounded by the same bullet that killed Hutchins, spoke about the profound impact the shooting has had on them, stating that they are still filled with grief.

“We have not only lost a talented artist but also a genuinely kind and compassionate person, which seems to be a rarity these days,” Souza testified via video link. He admitted that he is still struggling with the trauma from that day.

Souza was standing directly behind Hutchins during the rehearsal when the lead bullet from Baldwin’s gun penetrated Hutchins’ chest and lodged in his shoulder. It was later removed at a Santa Fe hospital.

“Halyna’s parents lost their daughter, her sister lost a sibling and a confidant. Matt [Hutchins] lost his wife,” Souza told the judge. “Halyna’s son not only lost his mother but also everything she had to offer for the rest of her life. Every kind word, every loving gesture, every support.”

A slideshow of photographs showcasing Hutchins’ childhood in Ukraine, her passion for her job behind the camera, and her hobbies, such as hiking and spending quality time with her family and friends, was presented by the prosecutors.

“Halyna was a powerhouse… She was one of my favorite people in the world,” testified Jen White, a friend, via video link. “I feel like she has been forgotten in the whirlwind of blame and finger-pointing following this entirely preventable tragedy.”

Gutierrez has always admitted to loading Baldwin’s gun with what she believed were inert “dummy” rounds. Baldwin recounted how he was rehearsing for an upcoming scene, pointing his prop pistol — a fully functional Colt .45 revolver — at Hutchins, unaware that one of the six rounds loaded in the chamber was a live bullet.

The defense attorneys pleaded with Marlowe Sommer for leniency, arguing that Gutierrez was eligible for a conditional release program as the shooting was accidental and she had no prior criminal record. However, the judge stated that probation or reducing her sentence to a year in Santa Fe County jail “would be giving you a pass that you do not deserve.”

In recent days, prosecutors had built a case that Gutierrez had shown little remorse for Hutchins’ death, even after she was incarcerated in the county jail following her conviction last month.

“Ms. Gutierrez continues to deny responsibility and blame others for Hutchins’ death,” wrote special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey in a court filing last week. On Monday, Morrissey stated that she wasn’t sure about the appropriate punishment for Gutierrez until last week, when she started examining Gutierrez’s jail phone calls — conversations she had with her mother, boyfriend, and a paralegal.

“I was sincerely hoping throughout this process that there would be a moment when Ms. Gutierrez would take responsibility and express genuine remorse,” said Morrissey. “But that moment has not yet come.”

The judge also referenced the jail conversations to justify her decision to send Gutierrez to a state women’s prison, saying that Gutierrez continued to blame others in those recordings.

“Did she have enough time to load the weapon safely? Yes, she did. Did she load the weapon? Yes, she did. Did she check what she was loading? No, she didn’t. Why? Well, as per her recent jailhouse calls, she ‘didn’t have to check the dummy rounds all the time,’” said Marlowe Sommer.

Marlowe Sommer stated that Gutierrez appeared to be more concerned about how the criminal case was affecting her modeling career rather than the devastating losses of others, as per her jail calls.

In one conversation, the judge quoted Gutierrez as saying, “Accidents happen and people die. It’s an unfortunate part of life, but that doesn’t mean I should be in jail.”

Gutierrez’s lawyer, Jason Bowles, strongly disagreed with the claims that Gutierrez lacked remorse.

“Ms. Gutierrez Reed has truly felt sadness and remorse over the tragic events,” Bowles wrote on the eve of the sentencing hearing. “She has largely dealt with this privately and has sought counseling for emotional and mental breakdowns.”

The judge noted on Monday that it was Bowles, not Gutierrez, who claimed she was filled with remorse.

This was the second conviction that New Mexico prosecutors have secured in Hutchins’ death.

Last year, “Rust” assistant director David Halls pleaded no contest to one count of negligent use of a deadly weapon for his involvement in the incident. Halls was the one who handed the gun to Baldwin that day, declaring it safe. He was given a suspended six-month sentence of unsupervised probation. He testified against Gutierrez at her trial and is on the witness list for Baldwin’s case.

Bowles has been providing his services free of charge since he took on the case in 2021.

Last week, Thell Reed attempted to create a GoFundMe account to raise funds for his stepdaughter’s legal bills during an appeal. However, the site removed the family’s post due to its policy that prohibits fundraisers for legal defense of criminal charges for violent crimes.