Prosecutors have dropped the “by firearm” to the involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin, reducing the possible jail time the Hollywood star could face for the fatal 2021 shooting on the film’s set. rustwhich resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies had charged Baldwin and the film’s gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed with two counts of involuntary manslaughter last month in the death of filmmaker Halyna Hutchins, the most serious charge carry a potential five-year prison sentence. But on Friday, Carmack-Altwies dropped the aggravated firearm possession charge, thus reducing the prison sentence from a minimum of five years to a maximum of 18 months.
“In order to avoid further litigious distractions on the part of Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the district attorney and the special attorney dropped charges of involuntary firearms homicide in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film rust,” said Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the First Judicial District of New Mexico, in a statement.
Baldwin’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Gutierrez-Reed’s representative expressed satisfaction: “We applaud the district attorney’s decision to dismiss the firearms escalation,” said Jason Bowles.
Lawyers for Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed had argued earlier this month that prosecutors were unfairly accusing their clients under a version of the firearms aggravated act that was only passed in May 2022. , months after the incident.
Baldwin’s case is notable in that there are no other examples of a Hollywood actor facing criminal charges for a studio shooting.
the sitcom actor Rockefeller 30 denied responsibility for the incident, in which the film’s director, Joel Souza, was injured. Baldwin alleges that he aimed the revolver but did not pull the trigger, further stating that it was Gutierrez-Reed and other professionals’ job to ensure that the gun was empty of live ammunition.
But videos from the moments immediately before the shooting show Baldwin with his finger on the trigger, investigator Robert Shilling said in a statement. An FBI forensic test further concluded that the revolver “functioned normally” and would not fire without the trigger being pulled.
Gutierrez-Reed gave his testimony to the New Mexico Workers Safety Agency (OSHA) on December 7, stating that the shooting could have been avoided if he had had more time to train Baldwin, since, he reports, the actor did not know how to use the revolver properly.
The documents blame Gutierrez-Reed for “allowing live munitions on set” but do not accuse her of physically introducing them into production. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are expected to make a first court appearance in Santa Fe, New Mexico February 24th.