Members of the Rust crew have raised concerns about gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez’s “drug and alcohol use” during filming as her upcoming trial approaches.
Gutierrez was charged with involuntary manslaughter after the film’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot by actor Alex Baldwin on set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on October 21, 2021.
Gutierrez has also been charged with tampering with evidence, as prosecutors alleged she handed over a bag of cocaine after her interrogation at the police station following Hutchins’ death. She has denied being guilty of the charges.
Her jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 22 on her involuntary manslaughter charge.
Recently released text messages between Gutierrez and others have been revealed in a new lawsuit in which some raised concerns about her apparent substance abuse issues.
Lyrics describe Gutierrez’s use of marijuana and cocaine and expose her recklessness in substance abuse, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey wrote in a court document.
Members of the Rust crew have raised concerns about Hannah Gutierrez’s “drug and alcohol use” while filming the movie Rust in New Mexico, according to court documents. Her jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 22 on her involuntary manslaughter charge
Witnesses said Gutierrez was “high on marijuana” in her hotel room in Santa Fe, New Mexico “while simultaneously possessing boxes of ammunition for use on the set of the film.”
According to court documents, messages between Gutierrez’s attorney Jason Bowels and Gutierrez were shared with ammunition supplier Seth Kenney after he filed a public records request.
The prosecutor later requested that Kenney destroy his copy of their communications.
Other text messages between Gutierrez and crew members were also shared in the archives.
“I think I was so drunk that she didn’t know she had brought live ammunition in the truck when she went to get a gun from the safe,” Sarah Zachry, a prop master on set, texted Kenney, according to court documents .
Morrissey wrote that other witnesses detailed how Gutierrez was “high on marijuana” in her Santa Fe hotel room “while simultaneously in possession of boxes of ammunition for use on the set of the film.”
According to the filing, the gunsmith was offered a plea deal on the condition that she take responsibility for bringing live ammunition onto the film set, as Morrissey said there is “substantial evidence” against her.
Gutierrez declined the plea deal that would have kept her from being charged with bringing a firearm into a liquor establishment, an unrelated charge from a separate incident, the documents said.
She was indicted on the charges in November because Bowels said she was “pressured into giving up her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent or face criminal charges on a completely unrelated charge,” Variety reported.
Intestines, told ABC news the state has “undoubted authority to prosecute her” for tampering with evidence.
He added that the substance in the bag was never tested and there is no evidence his client used it on or off set.
Bowels said Gutierrez was charged “in an attempt to unfairly prejudice her during her trial,” and that prosecutors violated her rights when they shared her attorney-client communications with a third party.
“Their response to vicious personal attacks to obscure the facts and the truth is more of the same unprofessional behavior we have seen throughout the case,” her lawyer said.
Pictured: Halyna Hutchins, the cameraman shot dead on the set of Alec Baldwin’s Rust
According to court filings, the gunsmith was offered a plea deal on the condition that she take responsibility for bringing live ammunition onto the film set, but she declined.
Pictured: Baldwin practices drawing his revolver on the set of the Rust movie
Actor Baldwin is also charged in connection with the murder. Baldwin pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Wednesday, with his lawyers pushing for a speedy trial to “minimize public suspicion and vilification.”
Court documents filed Wednesday show Baldwin entered the plea in Santa Fe District Court, forgoing an arraignment that was scheduled to take place remotely via videoconference the next day.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of the Western film “Rust,” was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
A grand jury in Santa Fe indicted Baldwin in January after prosecutors received a new analysis of that gun, renewing a charge that prosecutors originally filed and then dismissed in April 2023. Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
Baldwin’s lawyers called the accuser “misguided” and urged speedy legal proceedings to “minimize public vilification and suspicion against the actor.”
The grand jury indictment offers special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis two alternative standards for pursuing felony charges against Baldwin.
One alternative would be based on the careless use of a firearm.
The second alternative for prosecutors is to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Baldwin caused Hutchins’ death without due care or “caution,” also defined as “an act committed with total disregard or indifference to the safety of others.”
An analysis of the weapon, conducted by Lucien and Michael Haag of Forensic Science Services in Arizona, concluded that “the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”
The sour-faced actor, 65, wore gray pants with a fleece-lined jacket and glasses as he strolled alone through Manhattan on Thursday after pleading not guilty to involuntary manslaughter
Baldwin was spotted hiding his face in New York City following his recent ‘not guilty’ plea
This aerial view shows part of the movie Bonanza Creek Ranch set in Santa Fe on October 23, 2021. The fatal on-set shooting occurred just two days earlier.
An earlier FBI report on the bureau’s analysis of the revolver found that, as is common with firearms of that design, it could discharge without pulling the trigger if force was applied to an uncocked hammer, such as by to drop the weapon. . The gun eventually broke during testing.
Morrissey and Lewis subsequently dismissed the earlier charge they were told the gun may have been modified before the shooting and was not functioning properly.
Baldwin remains free pending trial on conditions that include not owning firearms, drinking alcohol or leaving the country.
Baldwin may have limited contact with witnesses when it comes to promoting “Rust,” which has not been released to the public.
Baldwin is prohibited from asking members of the cast or crew of “Rust” to participate in a related documentary.
Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the gun fired.
If convicted, he could face up to 18 months in prison.
“Halyna and I had something profound in common, which is that we both assumed the gun was empty…except for those dummy rounds,” Baldwin told George Stephanopoulos in an interview that aired on ABC News in December 2021.
The 65-year-old actor was spotted in New York City on Thursday looking somber as he wore gray pants with a fleece-lined jacket and glasses as he strolled around Manhattan alone in the morning.
Baldwin tried to hide his face as he got into a car, while his wife Hilaria was spotted on a coffee run with one of their eight children.
‘Rest’ deputy director and safety coordinator David Halls did not plead unsafe handling of a firearm last March and was given a six-month suspended sentence. He agreed to cooperate in the investigation into the fatal shooting.