Special prosecutors have filed an amended criminal complaint against Hannah Gutierrez Reed, accusing her of transferring narcotics to another person to avoid arrest, prosecution or conviction.
Gutierrez Reed, the production armorer on “Rust,” faces one count of tampering with evidence. She was previously charged with voluntary manslaughter in connection with a 2021 on-set incident in which a loaded firearm held by actor Alec Baldwin discharged a bullet, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Prosecutors dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin on April 21. However, Reed is still facing a charge of involuntary manslaughter. Bowles has filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the charges against Gutierrez Reed, citing prosecutorial misconduct.
Gutierrez Reed’s lawyer, Jason Bowles, stated the new charge came without prior notice or evidence to support it. He said the new charge followed the prosecution’s move to fire its lead investigator Robert Shilling after Shilling raised serious concerns about the investigation into Hutchins’ death in an email Bowles provided in a court filing.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey declined to provide more specifics about the narcotic in question Thursday, writing in a text message she could not provide details “at this time because it was very recently discovered and I need to disclose it to the defense first.”
The news was first reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican.
