'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed denied immunity to testify at Alec Baldwin's trial

A New Mexico judge on Friday denied the prosecution's request that convicted "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed be given immunity to testify at the July trial of Alec Baldwin for the 2021 fatal shooting of the movie's cinematographer.

Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March for the on-set killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and was what New Mexico Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey called "an incredibly important witness" against Baldwin. Prosecutors are trying to show Baldwin was negligent in his use of a revolver that fired a live round into Hutchins.

Morrissey said during a hearing Friday that she still might call Gutierrez-Reed to the stand, though the judge said it was clear from preliminary interviews and from her lawyer's arguments Friday that Gutierrez would not answer questions on the stand, with or without immunity.

In pre-trial interviews, Gutierrez-Reed claimed her constitutional right to remain silent and not incriminate herself when questioned on firearms safety failures leading up to the shooting inside a movie-set church near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Prosecutors had requested that Gutierrez-Reed get so-called use immunity, which would prevent them from using anything she says at Baldwin's trial against her.

Her lawyer said she does not wish to incriminate herself as she appeals her April sentencing of 18 months imprisonment and in another unrelated weapons case she faces.

Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced after a jury found her guilty of criminal negligence for mistakenly loading a live round into the revolver Baldwin was using.

Baldwin has denied responsibility for Hutchins' death, saying the gun went off on its own after he pointed it at the cinematographer and cocked it. He denies pulling the trigger.

In a recorded phone conversation after her March trial, Gutierrez-Reed was recorded saying she wanted to see Baldwin "in jail," according to a court filing by prosecutors.

Also on Friday, district court judge Mary Marlowe Sommer allowed a group of defense witnesses to remain after Baldwin's legal team requested they be removed from their list following pre-trial interviews.

State prosecutor Morrissey said in a court filing that one of the witnesses, Zachariah Sneesby, said in a pre-trial interview that he saw Baldwin pull the trigger of the revolver when it fired the round that killed Hutchins.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alec Baldwin trial: 'Rust' armorer denied immunity to testify