'Rust' armorer, charged in film set death, makes first appearance in court
Phaedra Haywood, The Santa Fe New Mexican
4 min read
Feb. 24—Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, charged with involuntary manslaughter in the October 2021 fatal shooting on the Rust movie set, made her first online appearance in court, though she never actually appeared on a YouTube broadcast made available to the public.
District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer did not take a plea from Gutierrez-Reed during the hearing, noting the proceeding was intended to advise the defendant of her rights and her exposure to prison if convicted.
Gutierrez-Reed is the only one of the three defendants charged in connection with the death of movie cinematographer Halyna Hutchins not to waive the hearing, during which she was advised of her rights and exposure but did not enter a plea.
Sommer ordered Gutierrez-Reed, 25, to abide by standard conditions of release while awaiting trial but exempted her from a provision that would have prohibited her from possessing firearms. Her attorney, Jason Bowles, said she needed a firearm to protect herself because she has received numerous phone threats since the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office released investigative documents, including her phone number late last year.
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies objected to the allowance, arguing the charge Gutierrez-Reed faces is related to her "mishandling of firearms and guns" on the Rust set.
"I just don't think it's appropriate for her to have firearms," Carmack-Altwies said. "There are other ways of dealing with this. She can move. She can have pepper spray, a bat, something else ... but I adamantly oppose her having firearms."
The judge ruled Gutierrez-Reed would be allowed to have a firearm for self-defense at her home only.
The hearing was streamed to YouTube to prevent an overload of the virtual proceeding, which has limits on the number of people who can join, Administrative Office of the Courts spokesman Barry Massey wrote.
The courts provided a screenshot of the hearing participants, which included an image of Gutierrez-Reed wearing a black turtleneck standing in front of a wood-paneled wall.
Rust star and producer Alec Baldwin — who faces the same fourth-degree felony charge as Gutierrez-Reed — waived his first appearance Thursday and entered a plea of not guilty.
Sommer ordered him placed on conditions of release that included some allowances for him to have limited contact with potential witnesses in the case — usually forbidden — for business purposes, as long as the incident was only discussed in the presence of attorneys for civil litigation purposes, according to online court records.
Assistant director David Halls — who has agreed to plead guilty to the petty misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon in an agreement which the District Attorney's Office has said calls for him to serve six months of probation — also filed a waiver of his first appearance earlier this week.
Online court records did not indicate what, if any, conditions of release the judge imposed on Halls. His plea agreement is pending a judge's approval and has not been released.
Carmack-Altwies told the judge Friday she was asking the court to set a preliminary hearing in the cases — which are joined — within 60 days, but added she may ask for an extension of that setting "because several parties are involved."
Sommer said she'll hear a pending motion asking the court to disqualify special prosecutor Andrea Reeb from the case before conducting preliminary hearings.
The motion — filed by Baldwin and joined by Gutierrez-Reed — contends the New Mexico Constitution prohibits anyone from simultaneously exercising the power of more than one of the three branches of government. Reeb is a state representative from Clovis.
Sommer directed the district attorney to respond to the motion by March 6.
Bowles informed the court he has another trial in April and expressed a desire to "work this out in May possibly."
The judge said she'll set a status hearing to get the parties together to work on the timing of settings in the case.
Hall's plea hearing is scheduled to take place March 8 will be conducted in person, Massey wrote.
Meanwhile, Rust Movie Productions LLC announced Friday the company has reached a settlement with the state Environment Department's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau.
"Under the terms of the settlement, which is pending approval, the citation issued by the bureau in April 2022 is downgraded from 'Willful-Serious' to 'Serious'," according to the statement. "Rust Movie Productions, LLC has also agreed to pay a reduced civil penalty of $100,000, down from the original $136,793 civil penalty issued by OHSB."
The bureau found the production company violated workplace safety laws by exposing employees to being struck by discharged rounds or projectiles when firearms were used on the set, according to a statement the agency sent Friday. The bureau issued the highest level of citations available under law — and imposed the largest penalty in the state since 2010 — according to the statement.
The production company contested the citations, but agreed to withdraw its protest under the terms of the settlement, the statement says.
