'Rust' armorer challenges conviction after Baldwin trial tossed

Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The armorer on Alec Baldwin movie "Rust" filed Tuesday to have her conviction for involuntary manslaughter overturned, days after the Hollywood star's own trial over a fatal on-set shooting collapsed due to withheld evidence.

Baldwin was holding a revolver during a rehearsal for the low-budget Western movie in October 2021 when a live round was fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding the film's director.

Hannah Gutierrez, as the film's armorer, was responsible for sourcing dummy and blank rounds for the movie set.

She accidentally loaded the fatal gun with a live round -- the origin of which has never been explained -- and was sentenced earlier this year to 18 months in prison.

But during Baldwin's separate trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, last week, it emerged that police and prosecutors had suppressed potentially significant evidence that could have explained how live rounds ended up on set.

Bullets that had been handed to law enforcement earlier this year by a former police officer, which appeared to match the round that killed Hutchins, were never examined by the lead detective or shown to defense lawyers -- meaning their origins remain unknown.

Baldwin's case was immediately tossed by the judge, who said the "intentional and deliberate" withholding of evidence was "highly prejudicial to the defendant."

Gutierrez, also known as Hannah Gutierrez Reed, was already in the process of appealing her conviction prior to the Baldwin trial.

Her lawyers have now filed an expedited motion for a new trial or dismissal of charges due to "severe and ongoing discovery violations by the state."

The motion said prosecutor Kari Morrissey "lied to this court several times" and was "in on the decision to hide the rounds."

It also alleges Morrissey withheld further evidence relevant to Gutierrez's case until after her trial, including an interview with a prop weapons supplier, and reports by state firearms experts.

"The intentional withholding of crucial evidence... has compromised the integrity of the entire judicial process," said the motion.

"Justice demands that Hannah Gutierrez Reed's conviction be overturned immediately."