Judge denies 'Rust' armorer Gutierrez-Reed's request for new trial
Mar. 29—A judge has denied Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's motion for a new trial, rejecting the argument jurors who convicted her of involuntary manslaughter earlier this month could have been confused by the wording of instructions they were given before deliberating.
State District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said during a hearing Friday she intends to issue a written ruling outlining her reasons in more detail but said she did not agree a new state Supreme Court ruling regarding jury instructions released after the armorer's conviction warrants a new trial.
Her attorney said he plans to appeal.
The judge also denied a request to release Gutierrez-Reed pending sentencing or an appeal.
Jurors deliberated for less than three hours March 7 before convicting Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died after being struck by a bullet that came from a gun handled by star and producer Alec Baldwin during a walkthrough of a scene being filmed at Bonanza Creek Ranch south of Santa Fe.
Prosecutors charged Gutierrez-Reed under two theories of the fourth-degree felony count: one being that she committed the crime in the commission of an unlawful act, negligent use of deadly weapon; the other being she committed the crime while performing a lawful act without due caution and circumspection.
Jurors were instructed they could find her guilty if they determined the state had proved she'd loaded the real bullet [instead of a dummy] into the gun "and/or" if they determined the state had proved she failed to perform an adequate safety check on the weapon.
Gutierrez-Reed's attorney, Jason Bowles, filed an emergency motion about two weeks after her conviction seeking her release from jail based on a state Supreme Court ruling issued about a week after Gutierrez-Reed's conviction. Justices reversed convictions for day care workers in a child's death in Portales based on ambiguous language in jury instructions.
Bowles also argued — in court and in a subsequent filing — there were issues with the jurors having been allowed to choose one or the other of the alleged acts and not being required to unanimously agree on which act she had committed.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued Bowles' initial two-page motion asking for a new trial had been "sparse" and she hadn't had time to respond to the unanimity argument. But she said she would do so if the court wanted to request further briefing on the issue.
However, she said the Supreme Court ruling Bowles cited referred to a case in which jurors were asked to parse out four acts divided by the "and/or" conjunction not two — making it inapplicable to Gutierrez-Reed's case.
Sommer said she agreed the initial filing had been sparse and that she'd read the case Bowles cited. The judge said she felt the issues in the armorer's case were "distinguishable" from the one that formed the basis for the recent Supreme Court ruling, adding she would elaborate in a written order.
"We are staying the course on sentencing," she added.
Gutierrez-Reed is scheduled to be sentenced April 15 and faces up to 18 months incarceration on the charge.
Baldwin — who has said he didn't pull the trigger on the .45 revolver he held in the scene — also is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins' death.
He has entered a plea of not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial starting July 9. However, his attorneys have filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the case.
Bowles asked Friday that Gutierrez-Reed be released from custody pending sentencing, noting the armorer had no violations ofthe conditions of her release while awaiting trial and was not a danger to the community or a flight risk.
Sommer denied that request as well.
