The father of 27-year-old armourer Hannah Gutierrez, who was jailed in connection with a cinematographer’s death on the set of Rust, has spoken out after a judge dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin, 66, due to evidence being withheld.
Involuntary manslaughter charges against American actor and producer Alec Baldwin were dismissed in court on Friday (local time) after a judge found the state improperly withheld evidence.
Baldwin was facing up to two years imprisonment after he fired a prop gun with a live round in it, which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of Western movie Rust in the state of New Mexico in 2021.
“The state’s willful withholding of information was intentional and deliberate,” Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said.
“There is no way for the court to right this wrong.”
In April, Hannah Gutierrez, who was the Armourer for the film was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for the death of Ms Hutchins after a New Mexico jury found her guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Ms Gutierrez’s 81-year-old father, Tell Reed, who is also a career armorer, and movie consultant, praised Baldwin’s court case outcome in an interview with the Daily Mail.
“Well, I think that’s good [Baldwin’s dismissal]. I think Hannah’s case should also be dismissed,” he said.
Mr Reed was critical of his daughter’s trial, claiming prosecutors suppressed important evidence.
Judge Sommer agreed to dismiss the case against Baldwin after his legal team presented evidence to the court, alleging the state had “buried” information about the origin of the ammunition.
Baldwin’s lawyers said Santa Fe sheriff’s office took the live rounds as evidence in the case but did not list them in the investigation or mention its existence to the defence.
Attorney Alex Spiro said evidence suggested the live ammunition made its way onto the film set via the prop supplier, rather than Ms Gutierrez.
‘It should [be grounds for an appeal]. She didn’t do anything wrong. They’ve absolutely made her a scapegoat,” Mr Reed said.
The prop supplier denied supplying the live ammunition to the film crew.
American attorney Benjamin Chew told Sunrise on Saturday Ms Gutierrez could appeal her sentence, following the findings in Baldwin’s trial.