Convicted “Rust” gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed pleads guilty in a separate criminal complaint

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The gun supervisor in the fatal shooting of an Alec Baldwin cameraman on the set of the Western film “Rust” pleaded guilty Monday to a separate criminal charge of carrying a weapon into a licensed liquor establishment.

Movie tanker Hannah Gutierrez-Reed agreed to change her guilty plea in exchange for a reduced sentence of 18 months probation.

Judge T. Glenn Ellington approved the agreement that allows Gutierrez-Reed to begin probation while she serves an 18-month sentence in a New Mexico state prison for involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins.

In the “Rust” case, prosecutors accused Gutierrez-Reed of unintentionally bringing live ammunition to the film set and failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.

Gutierrez-Reed shuffled into the Santa Fe courtroom Monday in a beige jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles to change her guilty plea and waive her right to a trial.

“I just want to apologize to the court and thank you for your ruling today,” she said.

The case is based on evidence that a few weeks before “Rust” began filming in October 2021, Gutierrez-Reed carried a gun into a bar in downtown Santa Fe, where firearms are banned.

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey said Gutierrez-Reed filmed herself with a handgun in the bar’s bathroom and explained in a video how she secretly smuggled in the banned firearm as authorities searched the gunsmith’s phone during the Rust investigation.

Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Hutchins. She has an appeal against that conviction pending in a higher court.

Baldwin, the star and co-producer of “Rust,” was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal for the film when the revolver exploded, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

In July, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed a manslaughter case against Baldwin mid-trial because police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense. Morrissey has since asked the judge to reconsider.

According to her plea agreement, Gutierrez-Reed is prohibited from possessing firearms, consuming alcohol or drugs during her probation and must pay $180 in fees while she submits a sample of her DNA to a criminal database and completes an addiction treatment program.

Defense attorney Jason Bowles said the agreement allows Gutierrez-Reed to be released from prison as early as June 2025 to complete her probation in Arizona without another felony conviction on her record.

Before she was led away, Gutierrez-Reed blew kisses toward the courthouse gallery where her mother, Stacy Reed, sat.

Reed said she is grateful that her daughter can begin completing the new probation requirements before she is released from prison.

“She wasn’t shaken right from the start,” said Reed, who traveled from Arizona for the hearing.