Prosecutors made the claim in a petition seeking to safeguard the name of a witness.
Prosecutors claim in a new court file that the “Rust” armourer accused of manslaughter in connection with the tragic on-set gunshot turned up a little bag of cocaine following her interview with police.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was accused with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was shot on the Santa Fe set in October 2021 by actor Alec Baldwin.
She is now being charged with tampering with evidence. Last Friday, state prosecutors in Santa Fe revised their criminal complaint against the defendant, alleging that Gutierrez-Reed “did transfer narcotics to another person with the intent to prevent the apprehension, prosecution, or conviction of herself.”
A request filed on Thursday to safeguard a witness’s identity gives further details on the alleged event. According to the affidavit, the witness alleged that Gutierrez-Reed “transferred a small bag of cocaine” to them after she returned from her interview at the police station on the day of the shooting.
“The circumstances of the evidence transfer strongly support the charge that the defendant transferred the cocaine to avoid prosecution and prevent law enforcement from obtaining highly inculpatory evidence directly related to the defendant’s handling of the firearm and the circumstances of the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins,” according to the filing.
Prosecutors have requested that the identity of this witness be protected because the witness is concerned about being “blacklisted.” in the film industry for providing information about Gutierrez-Reed.
The witness allegedly told investigators, “I will never be able to work in the film industry again,” according to the document.
According to the motion, the witness, who was not on the previous witness list, also wishes to safeguard their anonymity amid “enormous” press coverage of the case.
In a statement to the media, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, Jason Bowles, responded to the latest allegations: “A secret witness appears 20 months later? With no actual evidence or corroboration? And the state refuses to identify the individual? This is reminiscent of the secret Star Chamber prosecutions that were terminated in England in the 15th century.”
“Like everything else in the state’s case and investigation, it’s complicated.” “full of sound and fury, but meaning nothing,” the message went on to say.
Previously, Bowles described the tampering charge as “retaliatory and vindictive.”
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss her case in the fatal on-set shooting of Hutchins last month. Her counsel previously stated that she expects to enter a not guilty plea to the involuntary manslaughter charges and that she has no idea how live rounds got inside the gun.
Gutierrez-Reed is due in court again the week of August 9 for a preliminary hearing.
Baldwin’s initial accusations of involuntary manslaughter were dropped in April.