The armorer convicted in the fatal 2021 shooting involving Alec Baldwin on the set of the film Rust was released on Friday from a New Mexico prison.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was paroled to her home in Bullhead City, Arizona. She was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March 2024 for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed when Baldwin discharged a prop gun loaded with a live round during a rehearsal. Director Joel Souza was also injured.
Gutierrez-Reed had been sentenced to the maximum penalty of 18 months in prison. She was held at the Western New Mexico correctional facility in Grants, New Mexico.
Baldwin, the film’s star and co-producer, had faced the same charge, but his case was dismissed after the court found prosecutors had withheld evidence.
Gutierrez-Reed was acquitted of evidence tampering but is also serving probation for bringing a gun into a Santa Fe bar weeks before filming began.
The parole board of the state of New Mexico granted Gutierrez-Reed parole on Friday, according to CBS News. Her certificate said she is required to follow the conditions set forth by the board, some of which include electronic monitoring, following a curfew, and either getting a job or enrolling in school.
During the trial, defense attorneys highlighted Gutierrez-Reed’s relatively young age “and the devastating effect a felony will have on her life going forward”.
“Your honor, when I took on Rust, I was young and naive. But I took my job as seriously as I knew how to,” Gutierrez-Reed told the judge. “I beg you, please, don’t give me more time. The jury has found me in part at fault for this horrible tragedy, but that doesn’t make me a monster. That makes me human.”
The prosecution’s case focused on how a live round of ammunition ended up on the film set and in the prop gun – which was a fully functioning .45 revolver – handled by Baldwin. As the film’s armorer, Gutierrez-Reed had been tasked with checking each weapon on set and making sure they were safe and free of live ammunition.
According to Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria Baldwin, her husband has been diagnosed with PTSD. The actor filed a civil lawsuit in January for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations against the prosecutors in his trial.
Rust finished filming in Montana and was released in theaters this month.
