Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed denied request for new trial

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, to date the only person convicted in connection to the death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, has been denied in her motion for a new trial or dismissal for discovery violations. The violations in question refer to the revelations in Alec Bladwin’s trial, a case which was dismissed “with prejudice” due to the prosecution withholding evidence. In her decision, Judge Mary Marlowe stated that “Defendant has not established that there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been available to Defendant, the evidence would have produced a different verdict.” 

Baldwin was let off the hook in July when it came to light that Troy Teske, an associate of Gutierrez-Reed’s stepfather (Thell Reed, also an armorer), turned in rounds of ammunition that allegedly came from the Rust set to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office. While prosecutors in the Rust case were alerted to the new evidence, the rounds were cataloged separately from the rest of the Rust evidence and Baldwin’s legal team was not informed. Sommer ruled that the handling of the evidence constituted a Brady violation. 

Gutierrez-Reed’s legal team was clearly hoping the dismissal of the Baldwin case would provide an opening for her, but Sommer’s latest ruling indicates Gutierrez-Reed’s situation is very different from Baldwin’s. Sommer says in the court docs filed today that  “Mr. Troy Teske and the ammunition in his possession were available to Defendant, and yet Defendant opted not to call Mr. Teske as a witness or seek to introduce the ammunition during her trial.” Further, Teske apparently didn’t turn over the ammunition until after Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction, meaning that there was no Brady violation applicable to Gutierrez-Reed’s case. In regards to other evidence cited in Gutierrez-Reed’s appeal, Sommer writes that “Defendant has not established that this evidence undermines confidence in the verdict when considering the significance of this evidence in relation to the record as a whole.”

In response to Judge Sommer’s denial, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney Jason Bowles simply told NBC News “We will appeal.” A separate appeal for her conviction is already pending in higher court.