Prosecutor filed charges in case of death of the operator Halyna Hutchins
2023.01.19 13:45
Prosecutor filed charges in case of death of the operator Halyna Hutchins
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – Alec Baldwin and others were indicted on Thursday by a prosecutor in New Mexico for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while filming the Western “Rust.”
After more than a year of investigation into the October 2021 shooting on a film set outside of Santa Fe, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin and the film’s armorer.
The prosecutor announced in a statement that assistant director David Halls had agreed to a plea deal for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
Carmack-Altwies stated, “I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the ‘Rust’ film crew. After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico.” No one is above the law under my watch, and everyone deserves justice.
She stated that both Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will face two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony in New Mexico that carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
During filming in New Mexico, a revolver Baldwin was practicing with fired a live round, killing Hutchins and critically wounding film director Joel Souza.
The process by which live rounds entered a movie set and were loaded into a firearm was the primary focus of the sheriff’s office.
Baldwin has said that live rounds should never have been allowed on the set of the low-budget movie and that he denies being responsible for Hutchins’ death. Baldwin claimed that the gun was described as “cold,” a term used in the industry to indicate that it is safe to use.
The actor told ABC News in a 2021 television interview that while practicing camera angles with Hutchins, he cocked the replica Pietta.45-caliber long Colt revolver, which fired.
The single-action revolver passed a forensic examination by the FBI, which revealed that it “functioned normally” and could not fire unless the trigger was pulled.
In the past year, Carmack-Altwies made use of $318,000 from the state to hire a special prosecutor and pursue what she believed would be high-profile and costly jury trials in the event that charges were brought.
In April, the worker safety agency in New Mexico imposed a maximum fine on the film’s production company for what it called “willful” safety violations that led to Hutchin’s death.
The agency discovered that Rust Move Productions LLC displayed “plain indifference” to the risks and was aware that firearm safety procedures were not being followed.
