The 2021 fatal Rust shooting reveals that the armorer of Rust, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, attempted to hide a small bag of cocaine the night of the incident after the police had questioned her. Special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis filed this new claim last week.
Gutierrez-Reed is facing involuntary manslaughter after Halyna Hutchens, the cinematographer of Rust, was fatally shot with a gun that should not have contained real bullets. The prosecutors claim that Gutierrez-Reed tampered with evidence. They stated she “did transfer narcotics to another person with the intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution, or conviction of herself.”
The claim comes from a motion from Thursday afternoon from a witness that can testify about the drug transfer. The witness’s identity is being protected due to their concerns over media harassment since the case is high-profile. The witness, referred to as S1, also fears being blacklisted in the film industry for speaking out against the defendant. They specifically say, “I will never be able to work in the film industry again.”
Witnesses from the case state that they have seen Gutierrez-Reed “drinking heavily and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the shooting of Rust.” They further state she was likely hungover on October 21, 2021, the day of the shooting.
Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer, Jason Bowles, states that the claims are false, and the reason the claims were brought up was to attempt to have the public think unfairly of Gutierrez-Reed. Bowles questions, “A secret witness appears 20 months later? With no actual corroboration or evidence? And the state won’t identify the person?”
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