According to court records submitted by US prosecutors on Tuesday, actor Alec Baldwin and a firearms expert have been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set.
Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who oversaw firearms on the set of the Western movie Rust, were named in the charging documents filed by Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies.
On October 21, 2021, Halyna Hutchins was injured while performing at a ranch outside of Santa Fe, and she passed away soon after. Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured when Baldwin’s revolver went off as he was aiming it at Hutchins.
The decision to press charges was influenced, according to the prosecution, by Baldwin’s role as a producer and the identity of the shooter.
The charges against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were officially filed on Tuesday, almost two weeks after prosecutor Carmack-Altwies first said they will be tried for what the police have called a pattern of criminal disregard for safety. She described two sets of involuntary manslaughter accusations in connection with the incident in recent weeks.
Baldwin is accused of manslaughter and is subject to alternative standards and penalties. For willful disregard of safety “without due caution and circumspection,” homicide charges would be brought.
Baldwin is accused of committing numerous “very irresponsible acts” or careless failures to exercise caution in the days and moments preceding the fatal shooting, according to a probable cause statement describing the evidence against her.
Investigators claim that when a plastic or imitation gun should have been used in accordance with industry norms, Baldwin pulled a revolver out of a holster, pointed it at Hutchins, and discharged the weapon.
The statement also claims that images and recordings of the rehearsal, including those taken just before the fatal shooting, showed Baldwin “manipulating” the pistol’s hammer with his finger inside the trigger guard, and that an FBI analysis demonstrates that the pistol could not have been fired without pulling the trigger.
Investigators claim that Baldwin skipped the required firearms training before shooting and was preoccupied with family calls while on the scene, which prevented him from finishing the training in its entirety. Additionally, they point out a number of violations of the needed safety checks and procedures while the pistol was loaded and given to Baldwin.
Both Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin insist on their innocence and have vowed to challenge the accusations.
Luke Nikas, Baldwin’s attorney, declined to comment on the matter on Tuesday and instead referred to his earlier remarks in which he referred to the accusations as a “awful miscarriage of justice” that he and his client will battle and overturn.
According to the statement, “Mr. Baldwin had no reason to suspect there was a live bullet in the revolver or elsewhere on the movie set.” He trusted the experts he collaborated with.
The attorney for Gutierrez-Reed promised to make a comment later.
The film business has already implemented new safety measures as a result of Hutchins’s passing.
The set, according to Carmack-Altwies, was “actually being run quite fast and free,” she told The Associated Press in an interview on January 19. She claimed Baldwin ought to have been aware that there had been set misfires in the past and that several people had raised safety issues.
A summons to appear in court will be issued for Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed. In place of a grand jury, prosecutors will ask the court to rule on whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial. A decision might not be made for up to 60 days.
Involuntary manslaughter can involve a fatality that occurs when a defendant is engaging in a legitimate but risky activity and is acting carelessly or recklessly.
According to the prosecution, a proposed plea agreement signed by the movie’s assistant director David Halls, who was responsible for the set’s security, cannot be made public because it has not yet received a judge’s approval.
Halls has consented to enter a guilty plea to careless use of a deadly weapon, according to the prosecution’s prior statement. Halls may have handled the gun inappropriately before giving it to Baldwin, according to the prosecution.
Prosecutors are “totally committed on getting justice for Halyna Hutchins,” said to Heather Brewer, a district attorney’s office spokesman, who also noted that “the evidence and the facts speak for themselves.”
Rust co-producer and actor Baldwin has called the death “a horrible accident.” The 64-year-old actor claims he was informed the loaded.45-calibre revolver was safe, and he is suing those responsible for handling and supplying the weapon in an effort to cleanse his name.
Baldwin said in his lawsuit that as he and Hutchins were adjusting camera angles, he pointed the gun in her direction, drew back, and released the weapon’s hammer, causing it to discharge.
The allegations, according to Gutierrez-defense Reed’s attorney Jason Bowles, are the result of a “flawed investigation” and a “inaccurate grasp of the whole facts.”
Many initial court hearings allow defendants to participate remotely or ask to have their initial attendance waived.
Baldwin, an A-list actor whose 40-year career included the early blockbuster The Hunt for Red October and a starring role in the sitcom 30 Rock, as well as iconic appearances in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed and a film adaptation of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross, is now facing charges, which is a startling turn of events.
Baldwin gained notoriety in recent years for playing Donald Trump, a former US president, on the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live.
