- samantha granville
- BBC News, Los Angeles
A movie set weapons handler who loaded actor Alec Baldwin's gun before it went off, killing the cinematographer, has been found guilty of manslaughter.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reid was acquitted of a second charge of tampering with evidence in the shooting death of Halina Hutchins on the set of the movie “The Last” in 2021.
The 26-year-old could face up to 18 months in prison. She will be sentenced later.
Baldwin, 65, is also scheduled to stand trial for manslaughter in July.
Hutchins, 42, was killed on the set of a western movie in New Mexico when a gun used by Baldwin in rehearsal fired live ammunition.
Baldwin's attorney said Gutierrez-Reed's ruling was “very positive” for her client's future litigation.
Misty Mullis told CNN that the armorer was responsible for “the safety, maintenance, and care of firearms and ammunition,” so she could not have expected live ammunition to be used on set.
Jurors deliberated for three hours before returning Wednesday's verdict.
Gutierrez-Reed remained expressionless as she learned of her fate.
According to Reuters, she cried and told her mother, “It's okay,” as she was led away by two police officers.
Mr Hutchins' parents and sister said they were “pleased” with the verdict.
Their statement added: “We remain hopeful that the justice system will ensure that all others responsible for Ms. Halina's death are required to face legal consequences for their actions.”
“It means someone has been legally held criminally responsible for the death of Halina Hutchins,” Misty Mullis told CNN.
He said Baldwin would counter that he “couldn't have foreseen there was a live round in that gun.”
Prosecutors argued that Gutierrez-Reed could not confirm whether the weapon was loaded with only dummy bullets, meaning the fake bullets looked and sounded like the real thing.
“This case is one of continuous and unending safety failures that resulted in the death of a human being,” prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey said in closing arguments Wednesday.
Morrissey told jurors that Gutierrez-Reed was “negligent,” “careless” and “imprudent” for failing to notice that live ammunition was mixed in with the dummy bullets in the ammunition box at the scene of the shooting. said.
One of the bullets was in the firearm Baldwin was using, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors also presented evidence that Gutierrez-Reed brought boxes of live ammunition from his home in California to a film set in New Mexico. These live bullets slowly spread throughout the set over 12 days.
Mr. Morrissey said that the armorer had no intention of bringing live ammunition onto the set, and instead believed that Mr. Hutchins' death was due to tragic negligence.
Prosecutors added that Gutierrez-Reed was “more concerned about his career” than the victims after the shooting.
Gutierrez-Reed did not testify during the two-week trial, but her lawyer said in closing arguments that prosecutors had failed to prove that his client was the only person responsible for the fatal shooting.
” [ammunition] The box is not the problem. Because we don't know what was in there three or four days ago,” attorney Jason Bowles told jurors, arguing his client didn't know there was live ammunition at the scene of the shooting.
Bowles also criticized Baldwin, claiming he “went off script” by pointing a gun at film staff.
“It was not in the script for Mr. Baldwin to point the weapon,” he said. “She didn't know Mr. Baldwin was trying to do the same thing she was.”
He vowed to appeal.
Witnesses at the trial included film director Joel Souza, who was also shot in the incident but survived.
Souza said he remembers looking up at Gutierrez-Reed after he was shot and repeatedly saying, “I'm sorry, Joel.”
The jury was also shown emotional and harrowing footage of the immediate aftermath of the shooting, in which a Colt .45 revolver in Baldwin's possession was fired.
It includes a video that appears to show Hutchins' final moments as paramedics desperately tried to save her life.
Gutierrez-Reed was also acquitted of evidence tampering charges stemming from accusations that he tried to dispose of a small bag of drugs after the shooting.
Last year, the cast and crew of the film finished filming in honor of Ms. Hutchins, with her husband serving as executive producer.