The “Rust” weapons expert, who faces a manslaughter charge for the fatal on-set shooting, also faces a separate gun charge in an unrelated incident that occurred weeks before the film’s director of photography was shot dead.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who has pleaded not guilty to the “Rust” charge, was charged Thursday in New Mexico with unlawfully carrying a firearm in a licensed liquor establishment on Oct. 1, 2021.
An attorney for Gutierrez-Reed called the new charge baseless.
“The special prosecutor has now resorted to charging Hannah Gutierrez-Reed with another crime not linked to or even remotely related to the ‘Rust’ ensemble. Next week they will probably come up with something else,” attorney Jason Bowles said in a statement. “This has now become a complete smear campaign against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and an attempt by the prosecutor to obtain any conviction possible because his ‘Rust’ related charges against Hannah are so weak.”
Gutierrez-Reed She was charged in January with involuntary manslaughter and her trial will begin in late February.
On the set of “Rust” on October 21, 2021, Alec Baldwin’s prop gun fired a live round, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has repeatedly maintained in interviews that he did not pull the trigger.
Special prosecutors initially dismissed a manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed that the gun may have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. They later reversed course after receiving a new analysis of the gun and will ask a grand jury to consider reloading Baldwin.
Special prosecutors were scheduled to meet in New Mexico grand jury on Thursday, but the judge rescheduled it during a teleconference hearing on Wednesday, a source familiar with the case told NBC News.
Last month, Baldwin’s attorneys said, “It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has turned into this misguided prosecution. We will respond to any charges in court.”
Earlier this week, NBC News obtained a series of videos that shows Baldwin handling a prop gun while filming scenes.
Source link
