Hannah Gutierrez found guilty of involuntary death for the accident in the movie “Rust”

In October 2021, Alec Baldwin fatally shot Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer on ‘Rust’, when what was supposed to be a “cold gun” fired a live bullet. The armorer, who was responsible for checking the weapons on the gun-heavy Western, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the incident on Wednesday.

The twelve-member New Mexico jury reached their decision in just over two hours. However, they acquitted Gutierrez on a second charge of evidence tampering.

It was the first verdict trial related to the fatal accident, the first on-set fatal shooting in nearly 30 years. Baldwin, the producer and star of the low-budget production, is scheduled to face trial in July on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Hannah Gutierrez found guilty of involuntary death for the accident in the movie “Rust”

The six men and six women on the jury heard ten days of testimony in the trial presided over by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. The testimony focused on whether the relatively inexperienced armorer’s handling and supervision of firearms endangered her fellow crew and cast members.

The prosecution painted the then 24-year-old’s conduct as “unprofessional and sloppy” which led to her bringing live ammunition onto the set. “This case is about constant, never-ending safety failures that resulted in the death of a human being and nearly killed another,” said New Mexico state special prosecutor Kari Morrissey in her closing statements. Director Joel Souza was wounded by the same bullet that killed Hutchins.

Gutierrez’s lawyer Jason Bowles argued that the movie’s production company and state were using the armorer as a “scapegoat.” In trying to cut costs for the film, he argued that Gutierrez was employed both as a part-time armorer and a props assistant. Bowles said that his client was rushed to do two jobs and not given enough resources to properly oversee the weapons on a set that was chaotic and rife with safety issues.

He said he would appeal the decision. Speaking outside the courthouse after the decision Bowles said: “My sense was the evidence was insufficient and it was a lot of speculation.”

Gutierrez was taken into custody after the verdict was announced. She faces up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Problems on the set of ‘Rust’

Filming for ‘Rust’ began 6 October 2021 and problems beset the production from the onset. Disputes arose when the production crew found out that instead of being put up in fully-paid hotel rooms in Santa Fe, the closest city to the Bonanza Creek Ranch where the film was being shot, they would be staying in Albuquerque. That nearly doubled their commute time each morning to the set, around 50 minutes.

Tensions over safety concerns on the set worsened to the point that Halyna was forced to push for safer working conditions for her team. One concern was over the prop gun that fatally killed her reportedly had misfired three times in the two weeks prior to the horrific incident.

The day of the fatal shooting with what Baldwin says he was told was a “cold gun”, meaning it wasn’t loaded with any live ammunition, the camera crew walked off the set in protest. In addition to safety concerns, workers had complained of excessive hours and delayed paychecks.