OAN’s Elizabeth Bolbelding
12:53 PM – Monday, April 15, 2024
New Mexico judge sentenced rust Movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed sentenced to 18 months in prison for manslaughter.
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Gutierrez-Reid, 26, was found guilty last month of manslaughter in the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halina Hutchins on set. Actor Alec Baldwin was responsible for the shooting of Hutchins, but he essentially blamed the film’s armorer, Gutierrez Reed, for the incident.
Baldwin initially claimed he did not pull the trigger. However, the pistol was later submitted for a more thorough forensic examination by two special prosecutors, Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis. After recovering the gun, which had been damaged during an FBI examination, its experts, Lucian and Michael Hague, determined that the gun could have only been fired by pulling the trigger, rather than a “misfire” as Baldwin had claimed. I came to the conclusion that there is.
According to Careersinfilm.com, “armorers oversee the use of all weapons on a film set and instruct actors on how to properly and safely use the weapons.”
Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers requested a conditional release, asking the judge to release her on probation with certain conditions, rather than the maximum penalty of 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
“There is a possibility that the judge will approve.” [Gutierrez-Reed] “It’s a conditional release, but I think it’s unlikely,” said former federal prosecutor Neema Rahmani. fox news digital. “Gutierrez-Reed has yet to accept responsibility for her own actions that caused someone’s death. She took her case to trial, but her attorneys will appeal for her jury instructions. She said she intended to.
“At the time of the shooting, Ms. Gutierrez-Reed was more worried about the end of her career than about Hutchins’ death,” it added. “Add in her drug use and obstruction of justice, and she doesn’t seem like a very sympathetic defendant. Perhaps these letters are too little, too late to sway a judge.”
March 6ththa jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico, rust The main weapons handler was found guilty of manslaughter within two hours. The jury later said the defendant had failed in his “job” of ensuring the safety of weapons on movie sets.
A grand jury also indicted Baldwin on a charge of manslaughter, and he is scheduled for trial on July 10.th. In addition to being an actor, Baldwin was also a co-producer of the film.
Prosecutors said at trial that Gutierrez-Reed failed to follow basic safety procedures and that weapons inspectors loaded Baldwin’s fully working revolver with at least one live and dummy round. .
As a result, Hutchins, 42, was shot and killed, and film director Joel Souza was injured, but his injuries were not fatal.
“She was careless, careless and thoughtless,” prosecutor Kari Morrissey said of Gutierrez-Reed.
News of the shooting sparked outrage over dangerous working conditions in Hollywood. According to a staff member who testified at Gutierrez-Reed’s trial, production moved at an “incredible speed” on the chaotic set, and safety was “secondary.”
When Baldwin pointed the gun at the cinematographer, she held the camera and the gun fired a live round, killing her. Baldwin previously denied that he even pulled the trigger.
Baldwin is charged with either gross negligence or “total disregard or indifference” to safety in Hutchins’ death. Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer argued that Baldwin was responsible for the incident and that she was being used as a “scapegoat.”
“It was not in the script for Mr. Baldwin to point the weapon,” defense attorney Jason Bowles said during the trial. She said, “She didn’t know that Mr. Baldwin was trying to do the same thing that she was.”
Although Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction was for the lowest category of felonies, defense attorney Oleg Nekritin of the law firm of Robert J. DeGroot said, fox news digital “It will be difficult for the court to ignore that this crime resulted in loss of life.”
“As part of its sentencing, the court must consider Mr. Gutierrez-Reed’s good character and role in caring for his sick father,” Nekritin added. “However, the court will likely be swayed by the position of the victim’s family and the state. If the victim’s family and the state sentence Mr. Gutierrez-Reed to prison, the court will likely follow suit. ”
“If the victim’s family asks for a reduced sentence, it may give the court leniency and reason to justify a reduced sentence. Gutierrez-Reed’s future rests in the grace of the victim’s family. maybe.”
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