'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a 2-week trial in New Mexico
Alec Baldwin leaves his NYC apartment after Hannah Gutierrez Reed's conviction
Baldwin still faces his own involuntary manslaughter charge in the 2021 fatal shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. (Credit: Dario Alequin for Fox News Digital)
The family of Halyna Hutchins has turned their focus on Alec Baldwin after "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter Wednesday.
Baldwin will face a jury in court beginning July 9 on his own charge of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the fatal shooting of the cinematographer. Hutchins died on Oct. 21, 2021 after a gun Baldwin was holding discharged on the set of "Rust."
"Halyna’s parents and her sister have always wanted everyone who is responsible for Halyna’s death to be held accountable," lawyers for the Hutchins family told Fox News Digital.
"We are satisfied that the jury, based on the evidence, found Hannah Gutierrez Reed guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for her part in the taking of Halyna’s life," the statement provided by Gloria Allred and John Carpenter read. "We look forward to the justice system continuing to make sure that everyone else who is responsible for Halyna's death is required to face the legal consequences for their actions."
Alec Baldwin leaves his apartment on March 7. (Dario Alequin for Fox News Digital)
Alec Baldwin and his wife, Hilaria Baldwin. (Dario Alequin for Fox News Digital)
Baldwin was seen leaving his New York City home on Thursday morning. He was accompanied by his wife, Hilaria.
Baldwin was indicted on two counts – involuntary manslaughter, negligent use of a firearm, or, in the alternative, involuntary manslaughter without due caution or circumspection – on Jan. 19.
The actor had previously been charged with involuntary manslaughter on Jan. 31, 2023. However, special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis dropped the charges in April after coming across "new facts" that required additional review.
After investigating further, prosecutors convened a grand jury.
Alec Baldwin is facing involuntary manslaughter charges in the 2021 fatal shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. (Dario Alequin for Fox News Digital)
Experts tell Fox News Digital that Alec Baldwin is likely "nervous" about his own involuntary manslaughter trial after a jury convicted "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed on Wednesday. (Dario Alequin for Fox News Digital)
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Baldwin has maintained that he did not pull the trigger of the gun that led to Hutchins' death. At the time, he had been rehearsing a scene featuring a cross-draw that Hutchins wanted to possibly add to the script.
"The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger," Baldwin told George Stephanopoulos in an interview shortly after the fatal shooting.
"No, no, no, no, I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger. Never."
However, during Gutierrez Reed's two-week trial, independent firearms expert Lucien Haag told the jury it would be impossible to fire a single-action Colt revolver without pulling the trigger, even if the gun was broken, due to safety features built into the gun. He demonstrated that if the hammer was broken and could not lock in the fully cocked position, the gun is designed to catch the hammer when it slips into the half cock or quarter cock position – keeping the gun from firing.
"That's intentional. That's what Mr. Colt intended if the gun got worn and the hammer started to drop when you cocked it, it's going to get captured," Haag explained. "And if it gets past that point, it'll be captured by the quarter cock."
Hannah Gutierrez Reed listens as the verdict is read in her involuntary manslaughter case. (Courtesy: New Mexico Courts)
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The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department additionally requested testing by the FBI to disprove Baldwin's claim that he did not pull the trigger. The FBI found that in order for the gun to fire without the trigger being depressed, the gun would have to be broken. Bryce Ziegler, an FBI weapons expert who tested the gun, testified that the revolver was functioning normally when it was received for testing.
"We proceeded with the testing because Mr. Baldwin had made statements that he didn’t pull the trigger. And I think his exact statement was that the gun just went off," Alexandra Hancock, a detective for the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office, told the jury. "So we needed to figure out how to disprove that theory, or that statement. And that was the way that was proposed to us, and what the FBI could do."
Hannah Gutierrez Reed was taken into custody after the armorer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on Wednesday. (Courtesy: Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility)
Gutierrez Reed was convicted on Wednesday of involuntary manslaughter after the jury deliberated for less than three hours. She was taken into custody immediately after the verdict was read. The armorer's sentencing is expected to happen sometime in April or early May.
