“Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will remain behind bars, the judge overseeing the case ruled Monday.
“With respect to the Defendant’s arguments concerning her request for release pending appeal, the Court finds that Defendant has not established by clear and convincing evidence that Defendant is not likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community if released,” said the decision, New Mexico District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said in her decision, which was obtained by NBC News.
Sommer ruled that Reed’s conviction still holds even though the judge previously determined that the prosecution suppressed evidence in the involuntary manslaughter case against “Rust” star and producer Alec Baldwin.
Reed’s attorney Jason Bowles told NBC News: “We will appeal.” Gutierrez-Reed already has a separate appeal of her conviction pending in a higher court.
Reed, who was the armorer on the set of the movie “Rust” in 2021, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March and sentenced to 18 months in prison for the killing of the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.
Reed’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the charge after the stunning midtrial dismissal of Baldwin’s charges in July.
During Baldwin's trial, it was revealed that a friend of Reed’s stepfather, Troy Teske, a former police officer, turned in Colt .45 rounds to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office that allegedly came from the Western film set. But instead of being filed by the sheriff's office with its existing evidence or alerting Baldwin’s legal team, it was cataloged separately with a go-ahead from New Mexico special prosecutor Kari Morrissey.
For that reason, Sommer dismissed Baldwin's case, saying New Mexico prosecutors failed to disclose the evidence — a violation of the Brady Law.
“There is no way for the court to right this wrong. The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy,” Sommer said at the time.
Morrissey has since asked Sommer to reconsider dismissing the case against Baldwin.
New Mexico prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
