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“Rust” armorer wants conviction tossed in wake of dropping of Baldwin charges
The armorer on Alec Baldwin film “Rust” filed Tuesday to have her conviction for involuntary manslaughter overturned, days after the Hollywood star’s own trial over a fatal on-set shooting collapsed due to withheld evidence.
Baldwin was holding a revolver during a rehearsal for the low-budget Western in October 2021 when a live round was fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding the film’s director.
Hannah Gutierrez, as the film’s armorer, was responsible for providing dummy and blank rounds to the movie set.
Jim Weber / AP
She accidentally loaded the fatal gun with a live round — the origin of which has never been explained — and was sentenced earlier this year to 18 months in prison.
But during Baldwin’s separate trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, last week, it emerged that police and prosecutors had suppressed potentially significant evidence that could have explained how live rounds ended up on set.
Bullets that had been handed to law enforcement earlier this year by a former police officer, which appeared to match the round that killed Hutchins, were never examined by the lead detective or shown to defense lawyers — meaning their origins remain unknown.
Baldwin’s case was immediately tossed by the judge, who said the “intentional and deliberate” withholding of evidence was “highly prejudicial to the defendant.”
Gutierrez, also known as Hannah Gutierrez Reed, was already in the process of appealing her conviction prior to the Baldwin trial.
Her lawyers have now filed an expedited motion for a new trial or dismissal of charges due to “severe and ongoing discovery violations by the state.”
The motion said prosecutor Kari Morrissey “lied to this court several times” and was “in on the decision to hide the rounds.”
It also alleges Morrissey withheld further evidence relevant to Gutierrez’s case until after her trial, including an interview with a prop weapons supplier and reports by state firearms experts.
“The intentional withholding of crucial evidence … has compromised the integrity of the entire judicial process,” said the motion.
“Justice demands that Hannah Gutierrez Reed’s conviction be overturned immediately.”
Tupperware and some of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the once-iconic food container maker said in a statement late Tuesday.
The company has suffered from dwindling sales following a surprise surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, when legions of people stuck at home tried their hands at cooking, which increased demand for Tupperware’s colorful plastic containers with flexible airtight seals.
A post-pandemic rise in costs of raw materials and shipping, along with higher wages, also hurt Tupperware’s bottom line.
Last year, it warned of “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating in light of its poor financial position.
“Over the last several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” president and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing.
“As a result, we explored numerous strategic options and determined this is the best path forward,” Goldman said.
The company said it would seek court approval for a sale process for the business to protect its brand and “further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
The Orlando, Florida-based firm said it would also seek approval to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and would continue to pay its employees and suppliers.
“We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process,” Goldman said.
The firm’s shares were trading at $0.5099 Monday, well down from $2.55 in December last year.
Tupperware said it had implemented a strategic plan to modernize its operations and drive efficiencies to ignite growth following the appointment of a new management team last year.
“The Company has made significant progress and intends to continue this important transformation work.”
In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Tupperware listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The filing also said it had between 50,000 and 100,000 creditors.
Tupperware lost popularity with consumers in recent years and an initiative to gain distribution through big-box chain Target failed to reverse its fortunes.
The company’s roots date to 1946, when chemist Earl Tupper “had a spark of inspiration while creating molds at a plastics factory shortly after the Great Depression,” according to Tupperware’s website.
“If he could design an airtight seal for plastic storage containers, like those on a paint can, he could help war-weary families save money on costly food waste.”
Over time, Tupper’s containers became popular that many people referred to any plastic food container as Tupperware. And people even threw “Tupperware parties” in their homes to sell the containers to friends and neighbors.
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