New Mexico prosecutors formally dismissed a manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the 2021 shooting that killed a cinematographer on the set of the western movie “Rust,” citing new evidence and the need for more time to investigate. .
In a stunning reversal in the 65-year-old actor’s case, special prosecutors Kari Morrisey and Jason Lewis filed the notice to dismiss the lone charge against Baldwin in state District Court in Santa Fe on Friday. The notice notes that the investigation continues in progress.
A manslaughter charge against the film’s weapons supervisor, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, has not changed.
An online hearing was scheduled Friday in state District Court in the case against Gutierrez Reed. The hearing was initially going to include the case against Baldwin, but this was canceled after the charge against the actor was dismissed.
The document filed in court on Friday echoed earlier statements by prosecutors that new facts had been uncovered in the investigation that required further inspection and forensic analysis, with time running short for evidence hearings that were to begin the trial. May 3.
On Thursday, special prosecutors said the decision “does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal guilt and charges may be refiled.” Prosecutors declined to comment further.
Baldwin’s lawyers were the first to announce that prosecutors were changing tack, in a sharp turn for the Hollywood luminary, who just months ago was facing the possibility of a one-year prison sentence.
“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and support a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said in a statement.
Baldwin was pointing a firearm at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when the gun discharged, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has said that the gun discharged accidentally and that he did not pull the trigger. An FBI forensic report found that the gun could not have been fired unless the trigger was pulled.
In March, “Rust” security coordinator and assistant director David Halls pleaded no contest to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm and a six-month suspended sentence of probation. He agreed to cooperate in further investigations into the fatal shooting.
A defense attorney for Halls said Friday that he is happy for Baldwin and also wishes the best for the Hutchins family.
“Mr. Halls never believed that Mr. Baldwin should be charged with a crime. It was a tragic accident that is best resolved outside of criminal court,” defense attorney Lisa Torraco said in an email.
When the manslaughter charges were announced in January, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said the case was about equal justice under the law and accountability for Hutchins’ death, regardless of fame or reputation. fortune of those involved. She said the Ukrainian-born cinematographer’s death was tragic and preventable.
A new legal team took up the charges against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed in late March, after the special prosecutor originally appointed to the case resigned.
Dropping the charge against Baldwin, who is also a co-producer of “Rust,” abruptly changes the tenor of the investigation, said John Day, a Santa Fe criminal attorney not involved in the case.
“It gives the impression that the people who are being held accountable are the people at the bottom of the chain,” Day said. “It’s very different from what the original prosecutor said.”
When news broke that the charge against Baldwin would be dropped, the actor was at the Yellowstone Film Ranch on set to resume production on “Rust.” Preparations for the next leg of filming on the film were underway Thursday at its new location in Montana, 18 months after filming halted, a representative for Rust Movie Productions said.
Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers said they hope she will be exonerated in the court proceedings.
“The truth about what happened will come out and questions we have long sought answers to will be answered,” the attorneys, Jason Bowles and Todd Bullion, said in a statement.
