What to know about the prison sentence for a movie armorer in a fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin

SANTA FE, N.M. — A movie gunman was given the maximum sentence of 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter in Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of a cameraman on a Western film set, as authorities now turn their attention to prosecuting Baldwin himself.

A New Mexico judge ruled Monday that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s recklessness amounted to a serious crime of violence, while finding little evidence of genuine remorse from the defendant since her conviction in March. Prosecutors accuse Gutierrez-Reed of unknowingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust,” where it was expressly prohibited, and of failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.

Attention now turns to Baldwin’s upcoming trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the October 2021 death of Halyna Hutchins at a film ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe.

Baldwin, the film’s lead actor and co-producer, was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has pleaded not guilty and says he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and fired the gun.

Here are some things to know as the ‘Rust’ trial against Baldwin approaches:

Prosecutors on Monday described a “cascade of safety violations” on the film set that begins only with Gutierrez-Reed.

At the sentencing, Gutierrez-Reed said she had tried to do her best on set despite not having “the proper time, resources and staff,” and that she was not the monster people made her out to be.

But Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said the maximum sentence was appropriate given Gutierrez-Reed’s recklessness. She said there was no remorse and rejected a request from lawyers for leniency and conditional discharge, which could have avoided further prison sentences.

The judge went through a checklist of Gutierrez-Reed’s safety mistakes and pointedly answered her own questions.

“Did she have enough time to safely load the gun? Enough,” said the judge. “Did you load the gun? Yes – with dummies and a live round. Did she check what she was loading? No.”

Hutchins, who was 42 when she died, grew up on a remote Soviet military base and worked on documentaries in Eastern Europe before studying film in Los Angeles and embarking on a promising film career.

During the sentencing hearing, friends and family members described Hutchins as courageous, tenacious and compassionate.

Courtroom testimony also included calls for justice and a sentence that would bring greater responsibility for safety on film sets.

Ukrainian relatives of Hutchins are seeking damages from Baldwin in connection with the shooting. Attorney Gloria Allred represents Hutchins’ parents and sister and says the family supports Baldwin’s criminal charges.

“No one has ever come to me to apologize,” Hutchins’ mother Olga Solovey said in tearful video testimony shown at Gutierrez-Reed’s sentencing.

Filming of “Rust” moved to Montana after Hutchins’ death under an agreement with her husband, Matthew Hutchins, that made him executive producer.

Prosecutors dismissed an earlier involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin after they were told the gun he was holding may have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned.

A new analysis of the weapon opened the way for prosecutors to restart the case. A grand jury indicted Baldwin on the same charge in January. The suit alleges that Baldwin caused Hutchins’ death — either through negligence or “total disregard or indifference” to safety.

If convicted, the charge carries a possible prison sentence of up to 18 months.

Baldwin’s attorneys are urging the judge to dismiss the grand jury indictment, accusing prosecutors of “unfairly piling on” grand jury proceedings that distract from exculpatory evidence and witnesses.

Special prosecutors deny these allegations and accuse Baldwin of “blatant” attempts to escape guilt, citing contradictions in Baldwin’s statements to law enforcement, workplace safety regulators and the public in a television interview emphasizes.

An FBI expert testified at Gutierrez-Reed’s trial that the revolver used by Baldwin was fully functional and had safety features when he arrived at an FBI laboratory. The expert said he had to hit the fully cocked gun with a hammer and break it so it could fire without pulling the trigger.

Attorney Jason Bowles said Gutierrez-Reed will appeal the judge’s ruling and sentence against her.

Bowles said at the sentencing that “there were multiple system failures by multiple people. Some of those people have appeared in court. … Some have yet to appear in court. At least one person will be tried in July.”

Gutierrez-Reed was acquitted of tampering with evidence at trial, but still faces another felony charge in separate proceedings on allegations she brought a gun into a downtown Santa Fe bar.

At her sentencing, Gutierrez-Reed broke down in tears as Hutchins’ agent, Craig Mizrahi, spoke of the cinematographer’s creativity and described her as a rising star in Hollywood.

But special prosecutor Kari Morrissey says she reviewed nearly 200 phone calls Gutierrez-Reed made from jail over the past month. She said she hoped there would come a time when the defendant would take responsibility for Hutchins’ death or express genuine remorse, but “that moment never came.”