New Mexico
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.
New Mexico
Defendant pleads no contest in shooting of Native activist at protest of statue
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man pleaded no contest Monday to reduced charges of aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting of a Native American activist during demonstrations about abandoned plans to reinstall a statue of a Spanish conquistador.
Ryan David Martinez skuttled his scheduled trial this week at the outset of jury selection on previous charges including attempted murder. Under terms of the plea arrangement, he accepted a combined 9 1/2-year sentence but ultimately would serve four years in prison with two years’ parole if he complies with terms including restitution.
Prosecutors agreed to dismiss a possible hate-crime sentence enhancement. Restitution will be determined later by state probation and parole authorities.
Martinez was arrested in September 2023 after chaos erupted and a single shot was fired at an outdoor gathering in Española over aborted plans to install a bronze likeness of conquistador Juan de Oñate, who is both revered and reviled for his role in establishing early settlements along the Upper Rio Grande starting in 1598.
Multiple videos show that Martinez attempted to rush toward a makeshift shrine in opposition to installing the statue — only for Martinez to be blocked physically by a group of men. Voices can be heard saying, “Let him go,” as Martinez retreated over a short wall, pulls a handgun from his waist and fires one shot.
The shooting severely wounded Jacob Johns, of Spokane, Washington, an artist and well-traveled activist for environmental causes and an advocate for Native American rights who is of Hopi and Akimel O’odham tribal ancestry.
The assault charge stems from Martinez also pointing the gun at a female activist from the Española area before fleeing.
In a statement, Johns said he was disappointed with the plea agreement and said he still regards the shooting as a crime motivated by racial hatred and “a continuation of colonial violence.”
“The lifelong scars and injuries, loss of an internal organ, mental anguish and trauma will be with me forever — and in a couple of years Martinez will live free,” Johns said.
Attorneys for Martinez did not immediately respond to phone and email messages. They have argued that Martinez acted in self-defense.
Santa Fe-based District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies led the prosecution of Martinez and commended Johns and other witnesses to the attack for their resolve.
“The Defendant came into our community, armed with a firearm, to create and stir political discord,” she said in a statement.
The shooting took place the day after Rio Arriba County officials canceled plans to install the statue in the courtyard of a county government complex. The bronze statue was taken off public display in June 2020 from a highway-side heritage center amid simmering tensions over monuments to colonial-era history.
Oñate is celebrated as a cultural father figure in communities along the Upper Rio Grande that trace their ancestry to Spanish settlers. But he is also reviled for his brutality.
To Native Americans, Oñate is known for having ordered the right foot cut off of 24 captive tribal warriors after his soldiers stormed the Acoma Pueblo’s mesa-top “sky city.” That attack was precipitated by the killing of Oñate’s nephew.
Delaware
Deadspin loses bid to toss defamation suit over article accusing Chiefs fan, 9, of racism
DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge has refused to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against sports website Deadspin over an article accusing a 9-year-old NFL fan and his family of racism because of his game-day attire.
The lawsuit was filed by California residents Raul Armenta Jr. and his wife, Shannon, on behalf of themselves and their son, Holden, who attended a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders last November.
According to the lawsuit, Holden, referred to in the lawsuit as “H.A.”, is a Chiefs fan who also loves his family’s Chumash-Indian heritage. He wore a Chiefs jersey to the game, with his face painted half-red and half-black, and a costume Native American headdress.
Holden got the opportunity to pose with Raiders cheerleaders and was also shown briefly during the television broadcast of the game, with his red-and-black face paint visible. An Associated Press photographer also captured an image of Holden showing both sides of the boy’s painted face.
However, using a screenshot that showed only the side of Holden’s face painted black, Deadspin writer Carron Phillips published an article the next day accusing the boy of being racist.
“The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress,” the headline on the article reads. “They’re doubling up on the racism,” a subhead reads. “Are you going to say anything, Roger Goodell?” — a reference to the NFL commissioner.
In the article, Phillips wrote that the boy had “found a way to hate black people and the Native American at the same time.” He suggested that the boy had been taught “hatred” by his parents.
Deadspin posted the article on X, generating more than 18,000 comments and a “community note” clarifying its falsity. Phillips, described in the Armentas’ lawsuit as “someone who makes his livelihood through vicious race-baiting,” nevertheless doubled down.
“For the idiots in my mentions who are treating this as some harmless act because the other side of his face was painted red, I could make the argument that it makes it even worse,” Phillips wrote on X. “Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco.”
The Armentas started receiving hateful messages and death threats, with one person threatening to kill Holden “with a wood chipper,” according to the lawsuit. The Armentas say they made repeated demands for Deadspin to retract the article and apologize. In response, Deadspin instead republished an edited version that retained the accusations of racism and continued to display Holden’s picture. Deadspin later updated the article again, removing Holden’s picture and changing the headline to read, “The NFL Must Ban Native Headdress And Culturally Insensitive Face Paint in the Stands.”
“We regret any suggestion that we were attacking the fan or his family,” the article reads.
Unsatisfied with Deadspin’s updates instead of a formal apology and retraction, the Armentas sued for defamation.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Sean Lugg denied Deadspin’s motion to dismiss the Armentas’ lawsuit, rejecting arguments that the article was opinion and thus protected from liability for defamation.
“Deadspin published an image of a child displaying his passionate fandom as a backdrop for its critique of the NFL’s diversity efforts and, in its description of the child, crossed the fine line protecting its speech from defamation claims,” the judge wrote.
“Having reviewed the complaint, the court concludes that Deadspin’s statements accusing H.A. of wearing black face and Native headdress ‘to hate black people and the Native American at the same time,’ and that he was taught this hatred by his parents, are provable false assertions of fact and are therefore actionable,” Lugg added.
Lugg also refused to dismiss the lawsuit based on Deadspin’s argument that it should have been filed in California, where the Armentas live, instead of Delaware, where Deadspin’s former parent company, G/O Media, is incorporated. One month after the Armentas filed their lawsuit, G/O Media sold the Deadspin website to Lineup Publishing, and the entire staff was laid off.
“Deadspin and Carron Phillips have never shown a morsel of remorse for using a 9-year-old boy as their political football,” Elizabeth Locke, an attorney for the Armentas, said in an email. “The Armenta family is looking forward to taking depositions and presenting this case to a jury at trial.”
A spokesperson for G/O Media said in an email that the company had no comment.
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.
New Mexico
Defendant pleads no contest in shooting of Native activist at protest of statue
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man pleaded no contest Monday to reduced charges of aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting of a Native American activist during demonstrations about abandoned plans to reinstall a statue of a Spanish conquistador.
Ryan David Martinez skuttled his scheduled trial this week at the outset of jury selection on previous charges including attempted murder. Under terms of the plea arrangement, he accepted a combined 9 1/2-year sentence but ultimately would serve four years in prison with two years’ parole if he complies with terms including restitution.
Prosecutors agreed to dismiss a possible hate-crime sentence enhancement. Restitution will be determined later by state probation and parole authorities.
Martinez was arrested in September 2023 after chaos erupted and a single shot was fired at an outdoor gathering in Española over aborted plans to install a bronze likeness of conquistador Juan de Oñate, who is both revered and reviled for his role in establishing early settlements along the Upper Rio Grande starting in 1598.
Multiple videos show that Martinez attempted to rush toward a makeshift shrine in opposition to installing the statue — only for Martinez to be blocked physically by a group of men. Voices can be heard saying, “Let him go,” as Martinez retreated over a short wall, pulls a handgun from his waist and fires one shot.
The shooting severely wounded Jacob Johns, of Spokane, Washington, an artist and well-traveled activist for environmental causes and an advocate for Native American rights who is of Hopi and Akimel O’odham tribal ancestry.
The assault charge stems from Martinez also pointing the gun at a female activist from the Española area before fleeing.
In a statement, Johns said he was disappointed with the plea agreement and said he still regards the shooting as a crime motivated by racial hatred and “a continuation of colonial violence.”
“The lifelong scars and injuries, loss of an internal organ, mental anguish and trauma will be with me forever — and in a couple of years Martinez will live free,” Johns said.
Attorneys for Martinez did not immediately respond to phone and email messages. They have argued that Martinez acted in self-defense.
Santa Fe-based District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies led the prosecution of Martinez and commended Johns and other witnesses to the attack for their resolve.
“The Defendant came into our community, armed with a firearm, to create and stir political discord,” she said in a statement.
The shooting took place the day after Rio Arriba County officials canceled plans to install the statue in the courtyard of a county government complex. The bronze statue was taken off public display in June 2020 from a highway-side heritage center amid simmering tensions over monuments to colonial-era history.
Oñate is celebrated as a cultural father figure in communities along the Upper Rio Grande that trace their ancestry to Spanish settlers. But he is also reviled for his brutality.
To Native Americans, Oñate is known for having ordered the right foot cut off of 24 captive tribal warriors after his soldiers stormed the Acoma Pueblo’s mesa-top “sky city.” That attack was precipitated by the killing of Oñate’s nephew.
Delaware
Deadspin loses bid to toss defamation suit over article accusing Chiefs fan, 9, of racism
DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge has refused to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against sports website Deadspin over an article accusing a 9-year-old NFL fan and his family of racism because of his game-day attire.
The lawsuit was filed by California residents Raul Armenta Jr. and his wife, Shannon, on behalf of themselves and their son, Holden, who attended a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders last November.
According to the lawsuit, Holden, referred to in the lawsuit as “H.A.”, is a Chiefs fan who also loves his family’s Chumash-Indian heritage. He wore a Chiefs jersey to the game, with his face painted half-red and half-black, and a costume Native American headdress.
Holden got the opportunity to pose with Raiders cheerleaders and was also shown briefly during the television broadcast of the game, with his red-and-black face paint visible. An Associated Press photographer also captured an image of Holden showing both sides of the boy’s painted face.
However, using a screenshot that showed only the side of Holden’s face painted black, Deadspin writer Carron Phillips published an article the next day accusing the boy of being racist.
“The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress,” the headline on the article reads. “They’re doubling up on the racism,” a subhead reads. “Are you going to say anything, Roger Goodell?” — a reference to the NFL commissioner.
In the article, Phillips wrote that the boy had “found a way to hate black people and the Native American at the same time.” He suggested that the boy had been taught “hatred” by his parents.
Deadspin posted the article on X, generating more than 18,000 comments and a “community note” clarifying its falsity. Phillips, described in the Armentas’ lawsuit as “someone who makes his livelihood through vicious race-baiting,” nevertheless doubled down.
“For the idiots in my mentions who are treating this as some harmless act because the other side of his face was painted red, I could make the argument that it makes it even worse,” Phillips wrote on X. “Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco.”
The Armentas started receiving hateful messages and death threats, with one person threatening to kill Holden “with a wood chipper,” according to the lawsuit. The Armentas say they made repeated demands for Deadspin to retract the article and apologize. In response, Deadspin instead republished an edited version that retained the accusations of racism and continued to display Holden’s picture. Deadspin later updated the article again, removing Holden’s picture and changing the headline to read, “The NFL Must Ban Native Headdress And Culturally Insensitive Face Paint in the Stands.”
“We regret any suggestion that we were attacking the fan or his family,” the article reads.
Unsatisfied with Deadspin’s updates instead of a formal apology and retraction, the Armentas sued for defamation.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Sean Lugg denied Deadspin’s motion to dismiss the Armentas’ lawsuit, rejecting arguments that the article was opinion and thus protected from liability for defamation.
“Deadspin published an image of a child displaying his passionate fandom as a backdrop for its critique of the NFL’s diversity efforts and, in its description of the child, crossed the fine line protecting its speech from defamation claims,” the judge wrote.
“Having reviewed the complaint, the court concludes that Deadspin’s statements accusing H.A. of wearing black face and Native headdress ‘to hate black people and the Native American at the same time,’ and that he was taught this hatred by his parents, are provable false assertions of fact and are therefore actionable,” Lugg added.
Lugg also refused to dismiss the lawsuit based on Deadspin’s argument that it should have been filed in California, where the Armentas live, instead of Delaware, where Deadspin’s former parent company, G/O Media, is incorporated. One month after the Armentas filed their lawsuit, G/O Media sold the Deadspin website to Lineup Publishing, and the entire staff was laid off.
“Deadspin and Carron Phillips have never shown a morsel of remorse for using a 9-year-old boy as their political football,” Elizabeth Locke, an attorney for the Armentas, said in an email. “The Armenta family is looking forward to taking depositions and presenting this case to a jury at trial.”
A spokesperson for G/O Media said in an email that the company had no comment.
