'Rust' armorer asks judge to dismiss involuntary manslaughter charges

Posted 17 days ago

From WWW.DAILYMAIL.CO.UK

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the film set in which Alec Baldwin shot dead a cinematographer, has asked a judge to dismiss her manslaughter charge.

Lawyer's for the 'Rust' weapons supervisor filed the motion in Santa Fe County claiming that prosecutors did not have the authority to file the involuntary manslaughter charge in the first place, that the investigation was 'sloppy' and improper, and that Gutierrez-Reed's due process rights were violated.

The tragedy occurred when actor Alec Baldwin, 65, pointed a gun during a rehearsal on the Western film set in October 2021, it fired, killing Halyna Hutchins, 42, and wounding the film's director Joel Souza.

Baldwin claims he never pulled the trigger and believed the gun to be 'cold' and therefore not to contain live ammunition. Baldwin has since sued Gutierrez-Reed and others for handing him the loaded firearm.

Gutierrez-Reed's motion to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter charges  claims that the prosecution was 'tainted by improper political motives' and says that Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and the initial special prosecutor she appointed, Andrea Reeb, 'both used the tragic film set accident that resulted in the death of Halyna Hutchins as an opportunity to advance their personal interests.'

The motion asserts that the two did not have the authority to bring the charges because New Mexico law prohibits a district attorney from remaining on a case after a special prosecutor is assigned.

It also says the appointment of Reeb, a state legislator, was a violation of separation of powers law.

Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were initially charged with involuntary manslaughter in January this year, with both pleading not guilty.

The charges against Baldwin were dropped in April after 'new facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis' in the case against the actor' prosecutors said in a statement.... (Read more)












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