The actor Alec Baldwin was formally charged Tuesday with manslaughter for the shooting that killed a cinematographer on the set of the western film “Rust”, Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin was holding the .45 Colt revolver during production trials in October 2021 when he shot himself, seriously wounding Hutchins, who died shortly thereafter.
New Mexico’s first Judicial District Attorney, Mary Carmack-Altwies, announced in early January that there was enough evidence to file criminal charges against the American actor.
“Today we took another important step to bring justice to Halyna Hutchins,” Carmack-Altwies said Tuesday, as he filed the indictment that will take the actor to trial.
“In New Mexico, no one is above the law, and there will be justice,” the attorney added, in line with what the crash victim’s family said.
The film’s weapons manager, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was also indicted in the same case and under the same cover-up.
The prosecution will ask the defendants to appear in court within a month. A) Yes, Baldwin is due to appear in court, it is estimated, in early March.
If convicted, both defendants could face each other penalties of up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Aggravated by the use of weapons They could increase the sentence up to five years.in accordance with the US legal framework.
Baldwin, 64, repeatedly claimed that props told him the gun wasn’t loaded before he handed it in and that he hadn’t pulled the trigger.
His lawyer, Luke Nikas, said he would dispute the allegation, calling it a “terrible mistrial”.
Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers said prosecutors “they misunderstood the facts” and came to “wrong conclusions”.
“We will fight these charges and look forward to the jury finding Hannah not guilty,” Jason Bowles and Todd Bullion said in a statement.
On the other hand, assistant director Dave Halls, who handed the revolver to Baldwin on set and told him it was “cold” (film slang for a safe-to-use weapon). did not dispute the wrongful use charge of a deadly weapon.
Baldwin, one of the film’s co-producers, and Gutierrez-Reed were charged with two alternating counts of manslaughter with different degrees of negligence.
What the formalization of the indictment against Baldwin says
In the indictment, Carmack-Altwies listed a series of security holes and stated that Baldwin knew protocol, having been in more than 40 movies in which firearms were used.
A procedure whereby the gunsmith should have been present to check that the weapon was safe and not trust the assistant director, David Halls, because”I had no power authorize the use of the revolver”.
In addition, the prosecutor said that Baldwin should have received minimal training half an hour on the use of firearms, but who didn’t respect it because “most of the time spoke on the phone with his family”.
On the other hand, Baldwin, as producer of the film, “Never” should have allowed the hiring of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed because “he lacked the necessary training and experience”, according to the prosecutor.
Carmack-Altwies released the charges after 15 months of speculation that Baldwin was involved in the event, who activated a weapon that contained live ammunition. prohibited in filmingSt.
The prosecutor assured that there are “multiple photographs and videoswhich show him with his finger on the trigger and that he violated the first rule of shooting safety: “Never point a firearm, loaded or unloaded, at another person.”
The investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office (New Mexico, USA) is at a standstill he was unable to disclose how the ammunition got there real to the shooting set.
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Source: Clarin
