Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' armorer requests prison release as actor prepares for involuntary manslaughter trial
"Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed filed a motion for her prison release pending appeal. Her legal team plans to file a motion appealing on a jury instruction issue.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed requested to be released from prison pending the appeal of her involuntary manslaughter conviction, Fox News Digital can confirm.
The "Rust" armorer's legal team plans to appeal the jury instruction issues originally raised in a post-conviction motion, court documents obtained by Fox News Digital read.
"Ms. Gutierrez Reed is requesting to be released while she appeals, as if her appeal is successful, she will have served most or all of her sentence anyway, rendering a large part of the appeal meaningless," her lawyer, Jason Bowles, wrote. "She is not a danger to the community or a flight risk."
Gutierrez Reed worked on the "Rust" set where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot after a gun actor Alec Baldwin was holding discharged. Hutchins had been preparing a close-up shot when a gun Alec Baldwin was holding discharged.
A judge sentenced Gutierrez Reed to the maximum of 18 months after a jury convicted her of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year.
"For all the fanfare and pundits and finger-pointing that has been going on for over two years, we were able to seat a jury of her peers who confirmed that they could listen to the evidence received in court and determine the facts and apply the law," Sommer said before giving her ruling. "They found Ms. Gutierrez guilty of involuntary manslaughter."
Sommer slammed Gutierrez Reed's jailhouse calls, pointing out that the armorer spoke to someone about how "this is messing up her modeling career."
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"I find that what you did constitutes a serious, violent offense," Sommer said following the sentencing. "It was committed in a physically violent manner. A fatal gunshot done with your recklessness in the face of knowledge that your acts were reasonably likely to result in serious harm."
"You were the armorer, the one that's to be between a safe weapon and a weapon that could kill someone. You alone turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon. But for you, Mrs. Hutchins would be alive, a husband would have his partner and a little boy would have his mother. Please take her."
Lawyers for Gutierrez Reed argued she qualified for no jail time due to her "lack of a criminal history," "personal character traits" and the armorer's young age.
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Gutierrez Reed's motion for release pending appeal comes as Baldwin prepares for his own involuntary manslaughter trial.
Baldwin will head to court in July for his trial. Jury selection will begin July 9, according to New Mexico Courts. The trial is expected to last until July 19.
Baldwin's legal team has filed three separate motions to dismiss the indictment. A hearing on the first motion will be held virtually on May 17.