Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of "Rust," sobbed as she was handed an 18-month prison sentence for the accidental shooting death of Halyna Hutchins, whose mother told the court that "time does not heal." Gutierrez-Reed, 26, entered the courtroom in handcuffs, dressed in khaki prison attire consisting of a white long-sleeve T-shirt.
Tears streamed down the young armorer's face as the judge read her sentence in court. Several close friends and family members of Hutchins then gave heartfelt statements about the impact of her death -- which occurred on set in 2021 when Alec Baldwin fired a gun accidentally loaded with a live round -- had on them.
Pain and Remorse
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer delivered Gutierrez-Reed's sentence for involuntary manslaughter, the maximum allowable, opting to send her to prison rather than imposing a lesser jail term.
Sommer told her: "I did not hear you take accountability ... You said you were sorry, but not you were sorry for what you did.
"It was your attorney that had to tell the court you were remorseful. The word remorse, a deep regret coming from a sense of guilt for past wrongs, that's not you."
"I find that what you did constitutes a serious violent offense. It was committed in a physically violent manner ... I am sentencing you to 18 months of incarceration at a women's correctional facility in New Mexico."
Gutierrez-Reed was convicted after a jury concluded that she had mistakenly loaded a live round into a revolver used by Baldwin on set.
Baldwin's criminal trial is set to begin on July 10, following a grand jury indictment for involuntary manslaughter issued against him in January.
The firearms specialist is the stepdaughter of Thell Reed, a respected Hollywood gun trainer.
Gutierrez-Reed's attorneys sought probation for her, while prosecutors argued for the 18-month term, citing her apparent lack of remorse.
Sommer agreed with the prosecution, imposing the full recommended sentence after noting Gutierrez-Reed's derogatory remarks toward jurors and the judge, as well as her continued blame of Baldwin and others involved in the production for the shooting.
She spent a month in Santa Fe County Jail after her conviction last month.
Tense Scene in Court
Earlier, Gutierrez-Reed watched, with tears flowing intermittently, as Hutchins was remembered as a cherished friend and mother. Throughout a video recording, spoken in Ukrainian and translated via subtitles, Hutchins' mother, Olga Solovey, wept continuously.
She said, "The day of her death ruined my entire life. It's heart-wrenching to see her child grow without his mother.
"On the night [husband] Matt [called to say she died] I was screaming and kept pleading with him. Time does not heal. It is two and a half years past and it gets worse and worse."
Emilia Mendieta, one of Hutchins' best friends, told the court: "The last four words she ever said to me [were] 'I believe in you.' Those four words will forever echo in my soul."
"Halyna's death is the result of a massive system failure...it all boils down to a very simple question. Why was there a live bullet on set? ... That is where Hannah Gutierrez-Reed failed Halyna. It was her job to check the gun, check the bullets, to ensure that Halyna was safe."
Before Marlowe Sommer pronounced the sentence, Gutierrez-Reed pleaded for leniency, expressing that her heart "aches" over the tragedy. "I understand she was taken too soon," Gutierrez-Reed said, her voice breaking with emotion throughout her statement.
However, she went on to say that the media had portrayed her as a "monster" and acknowledged being "young and naive" when she began working on the Western film.
