‘Rust’ Armorer’s Lawyer Discloses Private Emails With Prosecutors

The lawyer of former “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has made private emails with lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey public while trying to dismiss her case.

In March, the rookie armorer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and sentenced to 18 months behind bars.

Last Friday, Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial was dismissed with prejudice after she decided that the prosecution and law enforcement officials had not turned over evidence that could have benefited Baldwin’s case.

On Tuesday, “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney Jason Bowles filed a motion to get her released from prison and is seeking a new trial.

On Tuesday, July 16, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney Jason Bowles filed an expedited motion in New Mexico asking for her case to be dismissed. If the case was not dismissed, he requested a new trial be held to factor in the new evidence. In his court filing, Bowles cites “egregious prosecutorial misconduct” and multiple allegations of “severe and ongoing discovery violations by the state.”

“The State withheld bombshell exculpatory evidence that it had a constitutional obligation to disclose and that would have resulted in a fundamentally different trial and likely a different outcome,” he wrote in court documents obtained by The Blast.

“In the alternative to an outright dismissal or at least a new trial, the Court should grant Ms. Gutierrez-Reed’s already filed motion for immediate release pending appeal,” he added.

In addition, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney also asked that special prosecutor Kari Morrissey be removed as the case’s special prosecutor “for the misconduct that has been found, and the violations committed in Ms. Gutierrez Reed’s case.”

In the court filing, Bowles revealed that his defense team “has also become aware of another possible 900 or so pages of material related to state’s witnesses Bryan Carpenter and Haag” that they were unaware of during her trial earlier this year.

Bowles attached multiple exhibits in the last ten pages of the court document, including an email chain that included Bryan Carpenter, Mary Carmack-Altwies, Andrea Reeb, Jennifer Padgett, and Robert Shilling.

One email was from Morrissey to Bowles about Carpenter’s ammunition, stating, “I have decided not to have them tested or picked up. These are clearly dissimilar to the live rounds found on the set due to primer and projectile characteristics. If you want to have them tested feel free. I can’t see how it’s relevant given that they are clearly dissimilar but keep me posted if you want to have them tested. If you can’t get that done within the next couple of weeks, you may need to continue the trial if you intend to use them.”

That email was in response to Bowles writing, “Kari – these are pictures from Troy of the same rounds from the batch that Thell gave to Seth. You had mentioned having the police pick these up to have tested. Do you still intend to do that? If not, we need to have them tested. Specifically, having the powder tested which is important to continue answering the question raised by the recent call we had with you and Jason [Lewis, special prosecutor].”

On Friday, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer – who sentenced Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to 18 months behind bars – dismissed the charges against Alec Baldwin after new evidence came to light. Crime scene tech Marissa Poppell testified that a “good Samaritan” had come forward to give them bullets following the armorer’s trial and subsequent guilty verdict.

However, law enforcement officials, along with lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey, decided to catalog the ammunition with a new evidence number, meaning that it was never turned over to the defense along with the rest of the “Rust” evidence. Judge Sommer felt that there was no way to remedy the way that the prosecutors had hidden the evidence except to dismiss the charges against Baldwin in their entirety.

Noting that the same prosecutor, Kari Morrissey, had worked on Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s case, veteran armkrer Thell Reed feels that her misconduct “should” be grounds for an appeal. Thell told the Daily Mailthat Hannah “didn’t do anything wrong,” adding, “They’ve absolutely made her a scapegoat.”

Although photographs emerged after the trial showing the “30 Rock” actor and his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, and his legal team at a hotel bar following the case dismissal last Friday, a source told Peoplemagazine that they were not “celebrating” the legal victory and were just “relieved that it’s over.”

“It’s been a sad situation, and there is no winning here. They didn’t celebrate,” the source said. “They were very worried and are grateful now that they are able to spend the rest of the summer with their kids.”

One day after the shooting, the “30 Rock” actor took to Instagram to address his supporters. “There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now,” he wrote along with a somber photo of him at the trial. “To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family.”