"Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and not guilty of tampering with evidence in the on-set shooting involving Alec Baldwin and the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The two-week trial in New Mexico ended on Wednesday when the jury announced their verdict in a quick deliberation that was only two and a half hours. Gutierrez-Reed, who originally pleaded not guilty, now faces up to 18 months in prison at a later sentencing date. The judge ordered that she be held in custody until sentencing, NBC News reported. The fatal shooting on the "Rust" film set was at the center of the criminal trial. In 2021, lead actor Baldwin held a prop gun that fired a live round of ammunition then killing the film's cinematographer Hutchins and injuring the director Joel Souza.
During the trial's closing arguments, the prosecution claimed that Gutierrez-Reed "was negligent, she was careless, she was thoughtless." After the fatal shooting, Gutierrez-Reed was more “worried about her career” and less about the victims, the prosecution said.
Following the verdict, Gutierrez-Reed's attorney told People Magazine that they would appeal.
Next up in the "Rust" shooting trial is Baldwin. He has been charged twice with involuntary manslaughter, one of the charges dismissed in April last year. However last month, a grand jury indicted Baldwin again following a forensic report that determined he had to have pulled the trigger. Baldwin has denied the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.
Baldwin’s legal team did not respond to a request to comment, NBC News reported. His criminal trial is set to begin in July.
