‘Rust’ Armorer Released From Prison After Serving 18-Month Sentence

The armorer on Rust was released from a New Mexico prison Friday after serving 15 months on charges in connection to the on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Prison records show Hannah Gutierrez-Reed left the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility following the year-and-a-half-long sentence for her conviction for involuntary manslaughter following Hutchins’ death in October 2021.

After a 10-day trial in March 2024, it took the jury just over two hours to return the guilty verdict, though they did acquit Gutierrez-Reed on a separate charge of tampering with evidence.

The jurors who convicted Gutierrez-Reed found that she negligently loaded the live bullet into the old-fashioned Pietta revolver that actor Alec Baldwin discharged during a rehearsal inside a wooden church on October 21, 2021.

Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months, but served just over 15 months before her release Friday. According to NBC News, Gutierrez-Reed’s prison time was reduced for good behavior, pre-sentence time served, as well as 60 days off for completing a residential addiction program.

Gutierrez-Reed will serve her year-long parole at home, where she will also be supervised after pleading guilty to a separate charge of unlawfully carrying a gun into a bar. Her parole also includes mental health assessments, and Gutierrez-Reed is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms.

Gutierrez-Reed was the second person to be held accountable in the Oct. 21, 2021, on-set accident where cinematographer Hutchins was shot and killed by the prop gun Baldwin was using. The film’s assistant director, David Halls, secured a plea deal with prosecutors, pleading no contest to a misdemeanor count of negligent handling of a gun. He served six months of probation.

Baldwin was also charged in connection to Hutchins’ death, but that involuntary manslaughter charge was dismissed by the judge due to the prosecution withholding evidence.