The father of “Lust” arms manufacturer Hannah Gutierrez Reed praised the dismissal of Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter case and said his daughter’s conviction for the same crime should be tossed out.
“Well, I guess that’s a good thing,” Thel Reid, 81, told the Daily Mail of the shock ending in which Baldwin’s case was thrown out after a New Mexico judge ruled that prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defence.
“I believe Hannah’s case should also be dismissed,” the legendary Hollywood arms manufacturer said. He told the media.
Reed’s daughter was sentenced to 18 months in prison in April for smuggling the bullet that killed cinematographer Halina Hutchins onto the set.
“There’s a lot of evidence that hasn’t been heard at all. I think they’ve suppressed all the important evidence,” he said. [Baldwin’s] The lawyers made that clear,” Reed said.
Gutierrez Reed, 27, was scheduled to testify Friday at Baldwin’s trial, but the judge suspended the hearing to investigate defense claims that prosecutors withheld evidence.
The evidence in question was ammunition that was delivered to the sheriff’s office in March by a man who said he may have been connected to Hutchins’ murder.
The judge sent the jury home early Friday after the “30 Rock” star’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that live rounds linked to the 2021 Hutchins shooting were “hidden.”
The prosecution argued that the ammunition did not match other ammunition found on the set, but the defense found that some of the ammunition bore the same markings as those used in the film. Other ammunition appeared to be inert imitation bullets that were seized as evidence.
Gutierrez Reed, who accidentally loaded a Colt .45-caliber gun, had already been convicted of manslaughter at the time the ammunition was brought.
“It should be [be grounds for an appeal]”She has done nothing wrong and they have completely made her a scapegoat,” Reid told the Daily Mail.
Gutierrez Reed was convicted of failing to follow basic gun safety procedures and is already in the appeals process.
Prosecutors say she gave a loaded gun to Baldwin, who then pointed it at Hutchinson during a rehearsal. The Emmy Award-winner claims he cocked the gun but never pulled the trigger.
Manager Joel Sousa (51) was also injured in the incident.
Gutierrez Reed said at his sentencing hearing that he tried to do his best on set despite not having “adequate time, resources or personnel.”
Gutierrez Reed was acquitted of a charge of evidence tampering at trial, but a separate court proceeding continues on a charge of bringing a firearm into a bar in downtown Santa Fe.
She is currently serving her sentence at the women-only Santa Fe County Adult Detention Center.
