‘Rust’ Armorer Sentenced to 18-Month Prison Term For Involuntary Manslaughter

The decision from Santa Fe judge Mary Sommer, delivered on Monday, comes after a jury found Gutierrez-Reed guilty, making her the first crewmember to be convicted for her role in the accidental shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

Involuntary manslaughter charges in New Mexico carry a maximum sentence of 18 months and a fine of up to $5,000. Prosecutors sought the upper limit of the term. Gutierrez-Reed has been at the Santa Fe Adult Detention Facility since March, when she was determined to be liable of involuntary manslaughter but not evidence tampering charges. Last month, Sommer declined to allow a new trial and denied a motion for the armorer to be released while she appeals her conviction.

During the hearing, Sommer spoke about the lack of remorse Gutierrez-Reed expressed from phone calls that were monitored while she was awaiting sentencing.

“In her own words, she’s said she didn’t need to be shaking dummies all the time,” Sommer said. She stressed, “You were the armorer, the one that stood between a safe weapon and a weapon that could kill someone. You alone turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon. But for you, Ms. Hutchins would be alive, a husband would have his partner and a little boy would have his mother.”

Prior to the delivery of her sentence, Gutierrez-Reed, 26, asked to be issued probation rather than serve time in prison. She addressed the court.

“First and foremost, my heart aches for Hutchins’ family and friends, and colleagues as well, since this tragedy occurred,” she said, adding that she was “young and naive” when she accepted the armorer position but “took my job as seriously as I knew how to” despite “not having proper time, resources and staffing.” The armorer concluded, “The jury has found me in part at fault for this God-awful tragedy but that doesn’t make me a monster, that makes me human.”

At the hearing, lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey urged the judge to issue the highest allowable sentence for the “cascade of set violations” that led to Hutchins’ death. She said Gutierrez-Reed “continues to refuse to accept responsibility for her role,” citing nearly 200 calls the prosecution monitored after she was taken into custody.

“Rather than accept responsibility, she has chosen to point blame at the witnesses who testified against her, me, you, the jury, the set medic and the paramedics who tried to save Ms. Hutchins’ life,” Morrissey said. She moved to designate the armorer a “serious violent offender” to limit her eligibility for a sentence reduction.

Sommer said that Gutierrez-Reed conveyed in those calls that the armorer largely considered the prosecution a “character attack on her” and was “dismissive” of her role in the shooting. Gutierrez-Reed also allegedly said without evidence that the judge was “getting paid off.”