Rust gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer claims she was ‘too stretched out’

A lawyer for Rust’s gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, claims she was “too stretched out” on the set of the low-budget western, and that she did not check the gun and receive a notice before Alec Baldwin received the gun. . that he killed Halyna Hutchins.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were indicted this week with manslaughter in the New Mexico death of Hutchins at Bonanza Creek in October 2021.

Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, Jason Bowles, said TMZ her client was “too uptight” and had asked for more time to focus on her gunsmithing duties, but was “denied” and never called to church by assistant director David Halls to properly instruct Baldwin on how to handle the gun. .

Hannah was not called back to that church. She asked David Halls specifically, “If Baldwin is going to use that gun, then call me back at that church, so I can instruct you on the use of the gun, I can re-inspect that gun, and I can tell you where to aim.” and work with him on it.”

“They never called her again,” Bowles lamented. ‘So when the [District Attorney] talks about the responsibility of the gunsmith, this and that, she wanted to do her job, but was prevented from doing her job. That is the great distinction.

Bowles also told TMZ that Gutierrez-Reed had asked Halls to use a “plastic gun” and was told no, they wanted a “real gun.”

‘So Halls took the gun, said he would [call her back in], [and] he never called her again,’ Bowles said. Halls had the actual gun. The idea that he’s saying he didn’t have it, he didn’t hand it over to Baldwin, [is] completely false.

Gutierrez-Reed also reached out to Gabrielle Pickle, her boss, and asked for more time to do her job since it was a “heavy gun game,” Bowles said.

“They denied him that,” he said. “They said, ‘No, we have a certain number of days for armor assignments and that’s it,’ because this was a lower-budget production and that’s how they were going to run it.”

The lawyer also reiterated that Hutchins’ death was a “tragic accident,” citing decades of film production in which no one was killed by a weapon on set as evidence.

‘In 100 years of movies, this hasn’t happened. I don’t think anyone could have foreseen that round live. It is a tragic accident.

He went on to say that the brunt of the accident falls on the “production” and Halls for “not calling Hannah back.”

Halls himself is expected to testify against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed.

Furthermore, prosecutors claimed that Baldwin was “distracted” during firearms training and admitted to officers shortly after the incident that he had fired the weapon, something he would later vehemently deny.

Mary Carmack-Altwies, the Santa Fe district attorney, reported that the Oscar-nominated actor and producer of the film was not present for firearms training before the start of filming, and when a training session was scheduled. For an hour, he seemed disinterested. and it was on his cell phone.

His team found a “reckless departure from known standards, practices and protocols,” noting that Hutchins died during an unscheduled trial, during which two standard safety checks were not performed and for which he should have been used. a plastic gun

‘Today [Wednesday], we have taken another important step to ensure justice for Halyna Hutchins’, Carmack-Altwies said in a statement. ‘In New Mexico, no one is above the law and justice will be served.’

Baldwin has vowed to fight the charges. He has repeatedly stated that he never pulled the trigger and said it was a tragic accident, emphasizing that he relied on hired firearms experts to be on set.

If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.

Among the documents filed Tuesday is a 10-page probable cause affidavit, divided into two sections. One notes Baldwin’s actions as a lead actor and another explores his role as the film’s lead producer.

Prosecutors say Baldwin was absent from an initial firearms training session.

Gutierrez-Reed set up an hour-long post session for Baldwin, but they only completed 30 minutes.

“According to Reed, Baldwin was distracted and on a cell phone with his family during training,” prosecutors said.

The affidavit claims that Baldwin gave “inconsistent accounts” about how the shooting occurred: He first told police that he “fired” the gun, and then insisted that he did not pull the trigger.

Prosecutors claim that “photos and videos clearly show Baldwin, multiple times, with his finger inside the trigger guard and on the trigger.”

They add: “Baldwin reached out to responding officers on the day of the shooting, wanting to speak to them because he was the one who ‘fired’ the gun.”

They state: ‘Photographic and video evidence from inside the church on the day of the shooting shows part of the trial up to and including moments before the shooting.

“Photos and videos clearly show Baldwin multiple times with his finger inside the trigger guard and on the trigger, as he manipulates the hammer and draws, aims and holsters the revolver.

“Baldwin knew that the first rule of gun safety is to never point a gun at someone you do not intend to shoot,” the document continues.

Baldwin claimed in interviews after the shooting that he did not pull the trigger.

He believes the gunsmith is to blame, who says he should have checked that the gun was safe before handing it over.

However, the probable cause statement against Baldwin referred to the FBI’s prior analysis of the firearm, which “clearly showed that the weapon could not ‘accidentally discharge.’

The document also said Baldwin failed to require “at least two (2) security checks between himself and the gunsmith” before the shooting.

Prosecutors said: “Had Baldwin not pointed the gun at Hutchins and Souza, this tragedy would not have happened.”

“This reckless departure from known standards, practices and protocols directly caused the fatal shooting.”

Baldwin’s attorney said the decision to charge his client was profoundly misguided.