Rust shooting: Prosecutors charge armorer with evidence tampering

Prosecutors have charged a Rust film armorer with evidence tampering in connection to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, US media report.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has already been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

She will face an additional charge in relation to "the transfer of narcotics to another person", prosecutors said.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed will plead not guilty to the new charge, her lawyer told the New York Times on Thursday.

The BBC has reached out to Ms Gutierrez-Reed and prosecutors for comment.

In court filings, prosecutors allege Ms Gutierrez-Reed transferred narcotics to another person on 21 October 2021, the day Hutchins was killed, in order to "prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of herself", Reuters reported.

Last week, in separate court filings, prosecutors claimed Ms Gutierrez-Reed was likely hungover during the day of the shooting because she drank alcohol and smoked marijuana in the evenings while the film was being made.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer, meanwhile, has said prosecutors have mishandled the case and resorted to "character assassination". Her attorneys have filed a motion seeking to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge brought against her.

The latest court filing comes two months after prosecutors dropped charges against actor Alec Baldwin, just two weeks before his trial was set to begin.

He had been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter after Hutchins was killed by a live bullet fired from a prop gun he was using during the filming of Rust in New Mexico.

New Mexico Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey said "new facts were revealed" that required further investigation.