15 April 2024 , 20:49
478
0
Hannah Gutierrez Reed was sentenced to 18 months in prison for her involvement with the death of Halyna Hutchins, which could be considered "bad news" for actor Alec Baldwin, according to an expert.
On October 21, 2021, on the set of the film Rust, live rounds were discharged from a prop gun that went on to kill the Ukranian cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Now that Hannah has been sentenced, this might not fare well for Alec, who was reportedly handling the gun and is being charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Los Angeles personal injury attorney Miguel Custodio, co-founder of Custodio and Dubey LLP, told The Mirror that Hannah's sentencing "shows the court is taking this fatal shooting seriously and that it’s not just for show as [Alec's] defenders claim."
READ MORE: Rust armourer jailed for 18 months after handing Alec Baldwin loaded gun that killed filmmaker
Alec claims he never fired the gun (Getty Images)Miguel suggested a plea deal might be the best for the actor after Monday's sentencing. "Baldwin may think that he will have an easier time if he believes that his team can convince a jury to see that the only culpable party has already been convicted," he explained.
Alec Baldwin accused of 'wilful disregard for others' safety' before Rust death
"That’s a risky proposition, given Baldwin’s role as a producer actually involves him in all aspects of the production," Miguel added,
"Potential jurors will clearly know what went on with Gutierrez-Reed and will really scrutinize Baldwin’s lack of responsibility for the chaos on the set."
The lawyer also pointed out that "Alec Baldwin will be in the same court, with the same judge, in the same community, with prosecutors presenting many of the same facts. And he’s facing the same sentence: 18 months imprisonment.”
This comes after Hannah was sentenced to 18 months in prison and was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors during Hannah's trial claimed: "She had six, six live rounds on that movie set, the earliest date that I can track them for you is October 10. Six, and she failed to ferret them out for 12 days. What that means is that she wasn’t shaking any dummy rounds, she wasn’t testing anything."
He pleaded not guilty (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)Her attorneys pointed the blame at Alec Baldwin, who was the one they claimed shot the gun. "Hannah could not anticipate what Baldwin would do. It was not in the script, it was not foreseeable. Management was responsible for safety failures and not Hannah," her lawyer said.
Back in January, Alec was charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to Halyna's death. He pled not guilty and claims that he never even pulled the trigger of the Colt .45 gun.
A report from experts Lucien and Michael Haag showed that the trigger need to be pulled in order for the rounds to be fired. "Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver," it said.
After his indictment, Alec's lawyers Lukas Nikas and Alex Spiro told The Mirror in a statement: "We look forward to our day in court."