New Mexico prosecutors said in Thursday’s court filing that the armorer who killed the cinematographer, who loaded the gun before firing during rehearsals for the movie “The Last,” was interrogated and released a small bag of cocaine. He said he passed it on to someone else. On the day of the shooting, police called.
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed was charged with manslaughter in the case. Her prosecution last week added a new tampering with evidence charge accusing her of passing her drugs on to others to avoid her criminal prosecution.
Prosecutors Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis reveal new details about tampering charges as key witnesses (who allege Ms. Gutierrez Reid handed over cocaine) asked the judge made it Their identities were initially protected.
The filing only refers to the witness as S1. According to the filing, the witnesses “will testify that the defendant moved a small bag of cocaine to S1 on the night of October 21, 2021 after the defendant returned from interrogation at the police station on the day of the shooting. ” is stated.
According to filings, the witness is believed to be a film industry employee and fears that his name will be “blacklisted” and pursued by the media if his name is revealed. Prosecutors acknowledged that the witness’s identity must be finally revealed.
In a statement Friday, Gutierrez Reed’s attorney, Jason Bowles, questioned the sudden addition of new witnesses 20 months after the shooting.
“And the state doesn’t identify the person?” Bowles said in a statement. “This is a throwback to the secret star chambers and prosecutors that were abolished in England in the 15th century. I don’t mean it.”
Bowles said her client intends to plead not guilty to both charges against her.
Actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing to pull an old-fashioned revolver out of his shoulder holster when a bullet was fired from a gun that wasn’t supposed to be loaded. Live ammunition was fired, killing cinematographer Halina Hutchins and injuring filmmaker Joel Souza.
After the shooting, Gutierrez Reed spoke with Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office investigators and said he had loaded a Longcolt revolver with six dummy rounds, which he believed were inert bullets, that day. rice field. Make it look like a real bullet in close-up camera shots.
Prosecutors allege Gutierrez Reed handed him a bag of cocaine after the interview.
“The circumstances of the transfer of evidence strongly support the allegation that defendants transferred cocaine to avoid prosecution,” the filing states. The shooting of Halina Hutchins. ”
Baldwin was initially charged with manslaughter, but prosecutors dismissed the charges against him after learning the gun may have been modified to make it easier to fire.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office’s actions were recently criticized by a retired district attorney’s office. Investigator Robert Schilling wrote in an email to his colleague on June 20, “Their initial investigation was reprehensible, unprofessional and still speechless. ‘ writes.
Former New Mexico Police Chief Shilling accidentally sent an email to his lawyer, Mr. Bowles. Schilling has since declined to provide details of his email, saying he is bound by a confidentiality agreement, and the sheriff’s office also declined to comment.
A judge is scheduled to decide in August whether Gutierrez Reed can be reindicted.
