‘Rust’ armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed now also facing tampering with evidence charge

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the Rust film set armorer charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, is now also being charged with tampering with evidence.

On Thursday, state prosecutors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, amended their criminal complaint against the defendant to include the new charge, claiming in the court filing, obtained by ABC News, that Gutierrez-Reed “did transfer narcotics to another person with the intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of herself.”

A lawyer for Gutierrez-Reed, Jason Bowles called the filing “shocking” that “after 20 months of investigation, the special prosecutor now throws in a completely new charge … with no prior notice or any witness statements, lab reports, or evidence to support it.”

New Mexico special prosecutor Kari Morrissey defended the filing in a statement, insisting, “… The ongoing investigation revealed strong evidence that Ms. Gutierrez-Reed tampered with evidence on the day of the shooting by asking another person to take possession of her narcotics.”

Bowles countered with his own court filing on behalf of the film armorer, asking a judge to dismiss the new information and to order the state prosecutor to turn over emails between the investigator, the district attorney, and state prosecutors.

Last month, attorneys for Gutierrez-Reed filed a motion to dismiss her case in the fatal on-set shooting of Hutchins.

Gutierrez-Reed was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Hutchins, 42, on the New Mexico set of the Western in October 2021.

The two charges of involuntary manslaughter against actor Alec Baldwin, who was holding the gun when it went off, were dropped in April.

Gun enhancement charges filed in the case against both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were dropped in late February.