Movie armorer on Alec Baldwin's film 'Rust' pleads guilty to gun charge in separate case

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The weapons supervisor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust" pleaded guilty Monday to a separate criminal charge of carrying a gun into a licensed liquor establishment.

Movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed agreed to change her plea to guilty on the charge in exchange for a reduced sentence of 18 months supervised probation.

Judge T. Glenn Ellington approved the agreement that allows Gutierrez-Reed to begin probation while serving out an 18-month prison term at a New Mexico state penitentiary for involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

In the “Rust” case, prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the movie set and for failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.

Gutierrez-Reed shuffled into the Santa Fe courtroom Monday in a beige jumpsuit, handcuffs and ankle shackles to change her plea to guilty and waive her right to trial.

“I'd just like to apologize to the court and thank you for your judgment today,” she said.

The case stems from evidence that a few weeks before “Rust” began filming in October 2021, Gutierrez-Reed carried a gun into a downtown bar in Santa Fe where firearms are prohibited.

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey said Gutierrez-Reed filmed herself in the bathroom of the bar with a handgun — explaining how she snuck in the prohibited firearm in a video that was obtained when authorities searched the armorer's phone during the “Rust” investigation.

Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March at trial of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Hutchins. She has an appeal of that conviction pending in a higher court.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for “Rust,” was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal for the film when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

In July, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed an involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin halfway through a trial based on the withholding of evidence by police and prosecutors from the defense. Morrissey has since asked the judge to reconsider.

Under terms of her plea agreement, Gutierrez-Reed is prohibited while on probation from possessing firearms, consuming alcohol or drugs and must pay $180 in fees while submitting a sample of her DNA to a criminal database and completing an addiction treatment program.

Defense attorney Jason Bowles said the agreement makes it possible for Gutierrez-Reed to be released from prison as soon as June 2025 to complete probation in Arizona without getting an additional felony conviction on her record.

Before being led away, Gutierrez-Reed blew kisses toward the court gallery where her mother, Stacy Reed, was seated.

Reed said she was grateful her daughter can begin to fulfill new parole requirements prior to release from prison.

“She’s not gotten a fair shake from the beginning,” said Reed, who traveled from Arizona for the hearing.

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey answers a question from Judge T. Glenn Ellington during the plea hearing for Hannah Gutierrez-Reeds, the weapons supervisor on the set of the Western film “Rust," at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M., Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (Gabriela Campos/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool)

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the set of the Western film “Rust," right, sits beside paralegal Carmella Sisneros at the start of her plea hearing at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M., Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (Gabriela Campos/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool)

Judge T. Glenn Ellington speaks to Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the set of the Western film “Rust," and her lawyer Jason Bowles during a plea hearing at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M., Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (Gabriela Campos/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool)

Jason Bowles, attorney for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the set of the Western film “Rust," addresses Judge T. Glenn Ellington during Gutierrez-Reeds' plea hearing at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M., Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (Gabriela Campos/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool)

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the set of the Western film “Rust," steps forward to address Judge T. Glenn Ellington during a plea hearing at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M., Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (Gabriela Campos/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool)

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the set of the Western film “Rust," center, speaks to Judge T. Glenn Ellington during her plea hearing at the First Judicial District Courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M., Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (Gabriela Campos/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP, Pool)

Movie armorer on Alec Baldwin's film 'Rust' pleads guilty to gun charge in separate case

FILE - Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, center, with her attorney Jason Bowles, left, and paralegal Carmella Sisneros, right, prepare for a sentencing hearing in state district court in Santa Fe, N.M., April 15, 2024. (Eddie Moore/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, Pool, File)

Movie armorer on Alec Baldwin's film 'Rust' pleads guilty to gun charge in separate case

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid is trying to believe in the good that can come from asking for help. Embiid’s career has yielded an MVP — and so many more DNPs — with a biography littered by the kind of devastating injuries that can, in time, heal.

Ask even the most casual 76ers fan, and they can rattle off a CliffsNotes version of Embiid’s injury timeline: The broken bones in his feet, the grotesque dislocated finger that made it resemble a used bendy drinking straw, the torn meniscus in his right knee, the torn ligament in a thumb, a bout with Bell’s palsy, and even his latest ailment — a busted sinus that compelled him to ask a media horde to cut the camera lights because of his sensitivity to the brightness beaming in his face.

Embiid played Friday night wearing a carbon graphite mask straight out of the “Phantom of the Opera” prop department. He needed the protection to save his face from another errant elbow, another sudden strike, that could thrust him into the kind of prolonged absence that has defined his star-crossed career.

With the 7-footer boasting a wingspan that could stretch a couple of Liberty Bells, his knack for knocking down spot-up 3s, Embiid's presence in the lineup is all that separates the Philadelphia 76ers from a playoff team and title contender to one drowning in the NBA standings.

He feels the burden. He understands the hardships.

Selected by the 76ers with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Embiid carries the weight of expectations of Philly — and beyond — with him, and the injuries that sidelined the 2023 MVP and have denied him a real shot at being heralded as one of the NBA's greats have led him to admit the cracks they formed in his mental health was something he could no longer ignore.

So the native of Cameroon who once never believed in seeking help from others had decided over time — much like elite athletes Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and retired swimmer Michael Phelps — to shake the once-taboo stigma of therapy and go all-in on the process to steer him through turbulent times in his professional career.

“It's kind of hard when you get in those moments where it's kind of hard not to feel bad about yourself, especially when you know who you are and what you can accomplish but it's not the way it is,” Embiid said. “One lesson that I learned is to try and stop feeling bad about myself and just live day-by-day. Enjoy good people around me, positivity and not focus on the negativity.”

Embiid has openly talked at times over the last year of feeling depressed from time on the shelf — he was sidelined for two full NBA seasons, and had chunks of so many others recovering, rehabbing, even resting — and this season was no different.

Embiid had his homegrown sidekick in All-Star Tyrese Maxey and nine-time All-Star Paul George along for the ride to form a kind of Big Three expected to challenge Boston, New York and Cleveland for Eastern Conference supremacy.

With all three walloped by injuries, they have played start-to-finish in all of two games this season.

Embiid slogged through headaches and dizziness to drop 34 points and led the 76ers past Charlotte on Friday night in a win that completed a 4-0 season sweep against the Hornets and propped the 76ers' record to a meager 9-16 overall.

“He does make the game so easy,” George said. “A lot of stuff was just plays we weren't in sync on. We'll get that as we're on the court more.”

The question again is raised around the NBA — what could the 76ers have accomplished had Embiid been healthy enough to always play 80 games a season?

As is the norm with Embiid, the two-time scoring champion will sit out the second game of a back-to-back Saturday at Cleveland.

“As long as it gets better every day,” Embiid said, “that'll be good.”

It's a modest goal as Embiid tries to make the days — using his word “manageable” — until perhaps it feels close to 100% in time for the playoffs.

His frankness in admitting he needed therapy belies a public persona of a 30-year-old who has delighted in playing the role of troll to needle rivals both in the locker room and on social media. Embiid — who signed a $193 million contract extension ahead of the season — has leaned on his wife and young son to push him through the hard days.

Embiid's a big brother to 20-somethings on the team like Maxey and rookie Jared McCain and he finally has a relatable peer this season in a fellow Olympic gold medalist George, who has had his own career interrupted by catastrophic injuries.

“You can never get enough of the support,” Embiid said. “If I'm being honest, when you've got the support from your family, people close to you, teammates, guys like (George), that's the reason why you want to keep doing it and you want to keep figuring it out. That's who you play for. The people who care about you, people that support you, people that push you. I have a hard time disappointing people, which I'm working on. When you've got that type of support, it's kind of hard to feel bad about yourself. I like to please people. You've just got to keep going.”

Keep going.

It's all Embiid can do now to find happiness on the court and in his personal life — and find some peace through treatment along the way.

He can at least improve his state of mind, even if the state of his body takes longer to heal.

“It's a work in progress. We'll see if it works," Embiid said. "You get to a point where nothing is working, I'm always willing to try anything and see if it works.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid left, tries to go up for a shot against Charlotte Hornets' Vasilije Micic during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid walks the court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid, left, goes up for a shot against Charlotte Hornets' Moussa Diabate during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid holds the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid reacts after being fouled during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)