A New Mexico judge will weigh whether “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez should be given a new trial amid allegations that prosecutors concealed evidence in the on-set shooting case.
New Mexico First Judicial Circuit Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said Thursday that she would issue a ruling next week on whether to grant a new trial. She will also consider a motion from defense attorney Jason Bowles to immediately release Gutierrez from prison while the court considers her motion.
The rulings for immediate release and a new trial will be issued in two separate orders, Sommer said during an hourlong hearing Thursday morning with Bowles and special prosecutor Kari Morrissey.
Gutierrez was convicted in March of involuntary manslaughter in the accidental on-set shooting death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Prosecutors alleged at the time that Gutierrez brought live rounds of ammunition to the set and loaded it into a prop gun that actor Alec Baldwin was holding. Baldwin was pointing the prop gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal when it discharged.
Gutierrez is currently serving an 18-month sentence in prison for her role in the shooting.
But the case took a turn in July. Sommer dismissed a felony criminal charge against Baldwin after his attorneys alleged misconduct, including alleged collusion between the prosecutor and Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies to conceal from defense attorneys a bag of ammunition that could have been evidence in the case.
Days after that ruling, Gutierrez’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss her case as well.
In the Thursday hearing, Bowles said the bag of ammunition, a report from a firearms expert hired by the special prosecutor and an interview with the owner of a company that provided the guns, blanks and some dummy rounds for “Rust” were not disclosed to the defense. The ammo was revealed to have a stamp that was an identifying characteristic of the “Rust” bullets.
“We are asking for a dismissal on the same basis as this court dismissed Mr. Baldwin’s case,” Bowles said during the hearing.
He also asked the judge to consider removing Morrissey from the trial as special prosecutor.
Morrissey disputed Bowles’ claims, arguing that they did not meet the legal standard for granting a new trial. She also opposed Gutierrez’s request for immediate release.
“When you look at the six factors that the court has to consider when granting a new trial, the defense doesn’t get there,” she said during the hearing. “They simply do not get there.”