‘STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN’

‘Rust’ Armorer Tried to Hand Off Narcotics After Shooting: Prosecutors

The new charge reportedly comes within days of an email criticizing the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office for “reprehensible and unprofessional” conduct during the investigation.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the embattled Rust armorer, was charged Thursday with evidence tampering in connection with Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of the western’s cinematographer in Oct. 2021. Prosecutors accused the 25-year-old of transferring narcotics to another person on the day of the shooting with the intent to “prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of herself,” according to a court filing. Gutierrez-Reed also faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins. In a statement to The New York Times, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, Jason Bowles, said that the timing of the new charge “stinks to high heaven.” He drew a connection to a previously unreported email sent Tuesday “raising serious concerns about the investigation.” The email, obtained by the Times on Thursday, was written by the state’s former lead investigator on the case, Robert Shilling. In it, Shilling lambasted the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office for its conduct “during and after their initial investigation,” calling it “reprehensible and unprofessional to a degree I still have no words for.” Shilling declined to elaborate on the email, telling the Times he was under a nondisclosure agreement.