Charges Officially Filed Against Alec Baldwin in `Rust' Shooting

HOLLYWOOD, CA -- Involuntary manslaughter charges were officially filed today in New Mexico against actor/producer Alec Baldwin and the armorer on the film ``Rust'' stemming from the on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.

New Mexico First Judicial Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced earlier this month that Baldwin, 64, and ``Rust'' armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed would be charged with involuntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act.

Prosecutors said the pair were being charged ``in the alternative,'' meaning it will be up to a jury to decide which level of involuntary manslaughter they allegedly committed in the Oct. 21, 2021, shooting.

Carmack-Altwies formally filed the charges in New Mexico on Tuesday, as well as a plea agreement reached with the film's assistant director, David Halls, who has pleaded no contest to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. The deal, which still needs judicial approval, calls for him to receive a suspended sentence and six months probation.

Court appearances have not yet been scheduled for Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed, who have both repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the shooting, which occurred inside a church building on the set of the Western film ``Rust'' near Santa Fe.

Baldwin fired the fatal shot from a prop gun while helping Hutchins, 42, and director Joel Souza set camera angles for a scene. The actor, who was also a producer on the film, has insisted he was told the gun was ``cold,'' or contained no live rounds. He has also insisted that while he pulled back the hammer on the weapon, he never pulled the trigger.

Attorneys for Gutierrez-Reed have denied that she did anything wrong, even suggesting at one point that others on the set tried to ``sabotage'' the production by mixing live rounds with blanks.

The involuntary manslaughter charges carry possible sentences of 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine. The charge of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act will include a sentencing enhancement for use of a firearm, making that count punishable by up to five years in jail.

The shooting led to an array of lawsuits against the film's producers -- including Baldwin -- and a series of countersuits.

Baldwin himself filed a lawsuit targeting Halls, prop master Sarah Zachry and Seth Kenney and his company, PDQ Arm & Prop, which supplied prop weapons and ammunition to the production.

The film's script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, has sued Baldwin and other crew members, saying she suffered emotional distress due to her proximity to the shooting. She was standing next to Hutchins when the shot was fired.

Halls in turn sued Baldwin, Zachry, Kenney and Gutierrez-Reed. Also, Hutchins' husband and son filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the film company, saying the production was plagued by safety issues, citing messages and emails circulated among crew members. A tentative settlement of the suit was reached late last year for an undisclosed amount. The settlement
includes a provision that allowed production on the film to resume this year.

Last year, the state of New Mexico announced a nearly $140,000 fine against the film's production company over the shooting. The state's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau determined firearm-safety procedures were not being followed on the set, and concluded that producers showed ``plain indifference to employee safety.''

Sheriff's investigators determined that live ammunition was found on the set, mixed with blanks that are traditionally used in film production.

Hutchins' death led to industry-wide calls for improvements in on-set safety, particularly in regard to the use of firearms.

-- City News Service