Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months in prison following Alec Baldwin‘s “Rust” shooting in New Mexico in 2021 that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead.
On Monday, the 26-year-old armorer got emotional before she learned her fate when New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer handed down the maximum sentence possible, the New York Post reported. In March, the armorer was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Hutchins on the New Mexico film set.
“I did not hear you take accountability … You said you were sorry, but not you were sorry for what you did,” the judge told the courtroom.
“It was your attorney that had to tell the court you were remorseful,” she added. “The word remorse, a deep regret coming from a sense of guilt for past wrongs, that’s not you.”
“I find that what you did constitutes a serious violent offense,” the judge continued. “It was committed in a physically violent manner … I am sentencing you to 18 months of incarceration at a women’s correctional facility in New Mexico.”
Movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust.” pic.twitter.com/eiysocvmub
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) April 15, 2024
Before hearing the sentence, Gutierrez-Reed pleaded with the judge to release her, stating she’s not a “monster” and said she was “young and naive” when she started the job.
“I understand she was taken too soon,” Gutierrez-Reed said, while reading her statement and becoming emotional.
Earlier this year, a 12-member jury came back with a guilty verdict after finding the movie weapons supervisor responsible, in part, for Hutchins’s death, The Associated Press reported. The jury found she was not guilty of tampering with evidence, which was the second charge Gutierrez-Reed had faced.
After the verdict was read, defense attorney Jason Bowles said they would appeal the decision, People magazine reported. Both Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin were charged in the fatal shooting that left Hutchins dead and injured director Joel Souza.
In January, a grand jury indicted Baldwin for involuntary manslaughter following the fatal shooting, as previously reported. The firearm Baldwin was holding discharged the bullet that killed Hutchins.
According to Variety, special prosecutors Morrissey and Jason Lewis presented a report to the grand jury showing that the shooting occurred by a “pull or rearward depression of the trigger.” Baldwin has repeatedly claimed there was “no trigger pull.”
On January 31, Baldwin entered a “not guilty” plea through his attorney and waived his right to an arraignment. His trial date is set for July 10. If convicted, he could spend up to 18 months in prison.