Prosecutors have charged the Rust film armourer with evidence tampering in connection to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
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 said, calling it “retaliatory and vindictive”.
In court filings, prosecutors allege Ms Gutierrez-Reed transferred narcotics to another person on 21 October 2021, the day Ms Hutchins was killed, in order to “prevent the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of herself”, Reuters news agency reported.
Last week, in separate court filings, prosecutors argued Ms Gutierrez-Reed had probably been hung over during the day of the shooting because she had drunk alcohol and smoked marijuana in the evenings while the film was being made.
Ms Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer 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.
It comes as the lead investigator for the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office, who is set to step down from his post next month, criticises the sheriff’s office for the way they investigated the shooting and the conclusions they reached in their October 2022 report.
“The conduct of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office during and after their initial investigation is reprehensible and unprofessional,” Robert Shilling wrote in an email sent to colleagues on Tuesday.
“Not I or 200 more proficient investigators than I can/could clean up the mess delivered to your office in October 2022.”
The criticism was made public by Ms Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer, who was accidentally sent it by prosecutors. The BBC has reached out to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office for comment. Mr Shilling told Reuters he declined to comment.
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 Ms 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.
Source: bbc.co.uk
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