Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to be charged with involuntary manslaughter of Halyna Hutchins
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO: Alec Baldwin and 'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will face involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced the charges.
According to the district attorney, two counts of involuntary manslaughter were brought against Alec Baldwin. The film's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is also accused of involuntary manslaughter.
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If found guilty, Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin could each spend up to 18 months in jail. The Assistant Director, Dave Halls, has admitted guilt to the charge of careless use of a deadly weapon, as per the Daily Mail. His plea deal will cancel the jail term and will face up to six months of probation.
"If any one of these three people — Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, or David Halls — had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today. It’s that simple," Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor appointed by the DA to the case said. He added, "the evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set. In New Mexico, there is no room for film sets that don’t take our state’s commitment to gun safety and public safety seriously.”
On October 21, 2021, in a small church on the Bonanza Creek Ranch set, the group had been practicing. Alec Baldwin was acting out a scene when the gun he was holding went off killing Halyna.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department had been looking into how live rounds got onto the movie set for the past year. The only other crew members thought to have handled the gun that went off on set were assistant director Dave Halls and armorer Hannah Guiterrez-Reed.
Baldwin has said that Halls told him the weapon was “cold,” meaning it contained only dummy rounds. But investigators found that the gun was loaded with one live bullet, which went through Hutchins’ torso and lodged in the shoulder of director Joel Souza. Hutchins was airlifted to a hospital in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead later that day, as per Variety.
Brian Panish, the attorney for Hutchins’ widower and son issued a statement expressing support for the charges "thanking" the Santa Fe Sheriff and the District Attorney saying this was "conscious disregard for human life.” "It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law. We support the charges..."
Baldwin has repeatedly argued that he should not be blamed for the incident. Halls allegedly had handed Baldwin a .45 revolver, telling him that it was "cold," or safe. Prior to that, Gutierrez-Reed spun the cylinder to show Halls what was in the gun, her lawyer said as per Fox news.
"Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun – or anywhere on the movie set,” Luke Nikas, Baldwin’s attorney, said in a statement. “He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds. We will fight these charges, and we will win.”
As per reports, Baldwin in his earlier interviews denied pulling the trigger saying that the gun went off when he let go of the hammer pulling it "as long as I could."