“The Last” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed was sentenced Monday to the maximum sentence of 18 months in prison for her role in the 2021 shooting death of Halina Hutchins by Alec Baldwin, sipping throughout her court hearing. I was crying.
Gutierrez-Reed, 26, was led into court with his wrists shackled and wearing khaki prison scrubs and a white long-sleeved T-shirt.
New Mexico District Court Judge Mary Marlow Sommer handed down her sentence after the rookie armorer was found guilty of manslaughter last month.
Judge Sommer told Gutierrez-Reed: “A conditional discharge is not appropriate. The second option, leaving you in jail, is giving you an unfair pass…Only you have access to a safe weapon.” But for you, a husband has a wife, and a little boy has a mother.”
Before sentencing, a victim impact statement was released, including a video recording of Hutchins’ mother, Olga Solovey, speaking in Ukrainian and translated into subtitles.
She cried during the recording and said: She said: “The day of her death ruined my life. It’s heartbreaking to see a child grow up without a mother.
“At night [husband] mat [called to say she died] I kept screaming and pleading with him. Time does not heal. Two and a half years have passed and the situation is getting worse and worse. ”
Emilia Mendieta, one of Hutchins’ close friends, told the court: [were] ‘i believe in you. ‘These four words will forever resonate in my soul. ”
“Ms. Halina’s death was the result of a massive system failure…It all comes down to a very simple question: Why was there live ammunition on set?…Hannah Gutierrez-Reid failed Halina. It was her job to check the gun and check for bullets to make sure Halina was safe.
Close family friend Stephen Metz said the incident had also completely destroyed Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins.
“Matt was so affected by this that he moved out. Basically, when Halina passed away, Matt also passed away… Halina’s death had a ripple effect on our community… Her death reminded us of the fragility of life and left us shaken and shaken. I was left feeling sad. There’s really no excuse. ”
At trial, jurors heard how Gutierrez-Reid, who was in charge of weapons on the set of a Western movie, ignored gun safety regulations and allowed live ammunition to enter the gun Baldwin was using in the film. I heard the evidence.
Baldwin, 66, who is awaiting trial on manslaughter charges, accidentally fired a bullet during a rehearsal, killing cinematographer Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Gutierrez-Reed, who has been in jail since his March 6 conviction, could be sentenced to up to 18 months in prison.
Her attorney, Jason Bowles, last week asked for leniency for Marlow Sommer, asking for a conditional release sentence with counseling and rehabilitation.
But prosecutors are asking the judge to throw the book at Gutierrez-Reed. Gutierrez-Reed still refuses to take responsibility, as evidenced by Gutierrez-Reed insulting jurors in jail, calling them “idiots” and “idiots.”
At Monday’s hearing, prosecutor Kari Morrissey said: Mr. Gutierrez’s summons to prison.
“I had really hoped that there would be a moment in this process for Mr. Gutierrez to take responsibility and express some genuine remorse. That moment has not yet come. He continues to refuse to take responsibility for his role.”
Bowles said the request to keep Gutierrez-Reed out of prison is justified because he has never committed a crime before. Although many vouched for her good character in her letters to the judge, she was in the media spotlight for more than two years before her life changed forever.
“MS. Gutierrez-Reed has endured and will continue to endure far more severe collateral consequences than most defendants ever have to face,” Bowles wrote.
The lawyer detailed how his client had received death threats, which caused fear and anxiety and prompted him to seek therapy. And she said that even if she chose to go to trial, “that doesn’t mean she didn’t have a trial, but that she was incredibly saddened and heartbroken for what happened on that tragic day.” I still don’t feel my feelings.”
Prosecutors said in a letter Friday that Gutierrez-Reed “continues to deny responsibility and blame others,” including asking for Baldwin to be jailed and not testifying in future trials. It also included making statements such as.
The special prosecutor alleges that Gutierrez-Reed drank alcohol while out during the trial “in violation of the terms of his release” and encouraged his mother to confront prosecutors while in the courtroom bathroom. He listed numerous charges of illegal activities since his arrest. And she tried to lie to her prosecutor about her employment history to give the impression that she was working full time before trial.
Bowles argued in court that Gutierrez-Reid was a “scapegoat” for the production company, which overworked her.
But prosecutors called Gutierrez-Reed, then 24, “sloppy” and “unprofessional” and said she “treated safety protocols as if they were optional.”
Bowles previously said he planned to appeal the conviction and sentence.
Prosecutors also allege that Baldwin, a producer and star of the completed but unreleased film, shares responsibility for Hutchins’ tragic death, saying that in the weeks leading up to the tragedy he was emotionally “out of control.” ” he claimed. He said he was pressuring crews to work faster and that safety was “routinely compromised.”
Baldwin is scheduled to go on trial on July 10, and has asked that the charges be dropped and has maintained his innocence.
Last year, assistant director David Halls pleaded guilty to negligent handling of a firearm and received a suspended sentence with no jail time.
