{"id":599139,"date":"2023-01-19T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/19\/alec-baldwin-and-weapons-handler-to-be-charged-with-manslaughter-in-deadly-rust-shooting\/"},"modified":"2023-01-19T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T16:00:00","slug":"alec-baldwin-and-weapons-handler-to-be-charged-with-manslaughter-in-deadly-rust-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/19\/alec-baldwin-and-weapons-handler-to-be-charged-with-manslaughter-in-deadly-rust-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Alec Baldwin and weapons handler to be charged with manslaughter in deadly ‘Rust’ shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

New Mexico prosecutors said they are filing felony criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin and the armorer of the low-budget western \u201cRust,\u201d following the fatal shooting of the film\u2019s cinematographer. <\/p>\n

The charges represent a dramatic culmination of more than a year of speculation over who would be held accountable for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, a rising star in the film industry<\/a>. Hutchins was shot in the chest Oct. 21, 2021, as she rehearsed a scene with Baldwin and the film\u2019s director, Joel Souza, who was also wounded.<\/p>\n

Baldwin is expected to be charged <\/b>with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins\u2019 death.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Prosecutors also plan to bring involuntary manslaughter charges against weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who loaded the gun. The charges are punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.<\/p>\n

The <\/b>assistant director, David Halls, who investigators said gave the loaded revolver to Baldwin just before a rehearsal in an old wooden church at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, reached a plea deal to accept a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.<\/p>\n

New Mexico\u2019s First Judicial Dist. Atty. Mary Carmack-Altwies announced the charges Thursday, <\/b>nearly 15 months after Baldwin is alleged to have fired the live round from his prop gun, unaware that the Colt .45 revolver contained live ammunition. Actual bullets are forbidden from film sets; however, investigators later found several other lead bullets mingled with inert dummy rounds. <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the \u2018Rust\u2019 film crew,\u201d Carmack-Altwies said. \u201cOn my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe support the charges, will fully cooperate with this prosecution, and fervently hope the justice system works to protect the public and hold accountable those who break the law,\u201d said attorney Brian J. Panish, who represents the Hutchins family. <\/p>\n

Gutierrez Reed\u2019s attorneys, Jason Bowles and Todd J. Bullion, called the investigation \u201cflawed\u201d and said they \u201cintend to bring the full truth to light and believe Hannah will be exonerated of wrongdoing by a jury.\u201d <\/p>\n

A series of lapses on the low-budget production led to the shooting, which ignited calls in Hollywood for producers to improve safety conditions<\/a> on sets. <\/p>\n

Baldwin<\/a> was one of the producers of \u201cRust.\u201d The 64-year-old Hollywood star \u2014 who achieved acclaim for performances on NBC\u2019s \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d and \u201c30 Rock,\u201d as well as such movies as \u201cGlengarry Glen Ross,\u201d and \u201cThe Hunt for Red October\u201d \u2014 could now face a criminal trial or accept a plea bargain. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision distorts Halyna Hutchins\u2019 tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice,\u201d said Baldwin\u2019s attorney, Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel. \u201cHe 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

The decision comes three months after Baldwin and the film\u2019s other producers struck a proposed settlement agreement<\/a> with Hutchins\u2019 family to end the wrongful-death civil lawsuit they filed early last year. The cinematographer\u2019s widower, Matthew Hutchins<\/a>, called his spouse\u2019s death \u201ca terrible accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the proposed deal, the movie\u2019s production would resume this year. <\/p>\n

Baldwin has long maintained his innocence, saying in televised interviews that gun safety wasn\u2019t his responsibility and that he did not pull the trigger<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Reports prepared by FBI analysts in Virginia, however, cast doubt on that claim, saying a replica of a vintage Pietta Colt .45, \u201cfunctioned normally when tested in the laboratory.\u201d <\/p>\n

The FBI report also noted that, in order for the revolver to fire, the trigger would have been pulled.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is problematic for Baldwin because he has insisted that he did not pull the trigger,\u201d said Beverly Hills entertainment attorney Mitra Ahouraian. <\/p>\n

Baldwin has placed blame on Gutierrez Reed and Halls, saying they didn\u2019t do their jobs. The armorer, property master and assistant director are typically responsible for gun safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll my career, without incident, I\u2019ve relied on the safety experts [on set] to declare the gun safe and never had a problem,\u201d Baldwin said in 2022 at the Boulder International Film Festival.<\/a> \u201cAnd [then,] this happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

That defense might fall short, experts said.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Alec <\/picture>\n
\n

Alec Baldwin outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff\u2019s Office after the shooting on the set of the film \u201cRust\u201d on Oct. 21, 2021. <\/p>\n

(Jim Weber \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cRegardless of what the practice may be in the entertainment industry, and regardless of what the protocols are on Hollywood sets, that\u2019s not the law,\u201d Ahouraian said. \u201cThe gun was in his hands. And if there\u2019s any possibility that you are handling something that could harm someone, then you have an obligation to handle it safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone in that chain of custody had some responsibility,\u201d said Joshua Kastenberg, a law professor at the University of New Mexico. \u201c The \u2018it\u2019s not my job\u2019 defense just doesn\u2019t fly.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Filming of \u201cRust,\u201d which had a $7-million production budget, was supposed to span 21 days \u2014 an ambitious timeline for a period piece, film experts have said.<\/p>\n

Baldwin was playing a grizzled outlaw, Harland Rust, who was on the run with his grandson, who accidentally shot a rancher dead in 1880s Kansas.<\/p>\n

After lunch on that fateful day<\/a>, Souza and Hutchins were lining up camera angles as Baldwin practiced a cross-draw maneuver inside the old wooden church at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a popular location for movie productions. <\/p>\n

Sitting in a makeshift pew about four feet from Hutchins and Souza, Baldwin allegedly pulled the replica Colt .45 pistol from his holster, pointed it in the direction of the camera and the gun went off. Hutchins was standing next to the camera and Souza was behind her.<\/p>\n

Halls \u2014 who was the \u201cRust\u201d safety officer on set \u2014 had told Baldwin the gun was \u201ccold,\u201d meaning that it did not contain live ammunition, according to sheriff\u2019s records.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Armorer <\/picture>\n
\n

Armorer Thell Reed and daughter Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who was the armorer on \u201cRust,\u201d pose together on a film set. <\/p>\n

(Thell Reed)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The gun contained at least one live bullet and dummy rounds, which contained no gunpowder. Such bullets are inert, but look nearly identical to a real bullet when a camera peers down the barrel of a revolver. <\/p>\n

If the rounds had been thoroughly checked<\/a>, Gutierrez Reed, Halls or others should have seen that at least one lacked the small hole or indentation that differentiates so-called \u201cdummies\u201d from actual lead bullets. <\/p>\n

They would have also noticed that the live round didn\u2019t make the signature rattling sound that reveals that only a BB \u2014 and no gunpowder \u2014 was contained inside.<\/p>\n

Gutierrez Reed previously had acknowledged that she had loaded the gun, but didn\u2019t realize actual bullets were contained in a new box of ammunition that arrived on set that morning. <\/p>\n

Following the shooting, she told sheriff\u2019s detectives that although she checked Baldwin\u2019s gun before the unscheduled rehearsal in the wooden church, she \u201cdidn\u2019t really check it too much after lunch\u201d because the weapon had been locked in a safe during the crew\u2019s lunch break. <\/p>\n

Much of the camera crew had walked off the job hours<\/a> before the fatal shooting after complaining to producers about alleged inattention to safety and a refusal to pay for nearby lodging for cameramen. <\/p>\n

Tensions flared over two accidental weapons discharges less than a week before Hutchins\u2019 death, including when property master Sarah Zachry accidentally fired a weapon to be used by one of the actors, although she was not injured in the incident. <\/p>\n

Additionally, rifts had developed<\/a> within the movie\u2019s small crew that handled props over issues of workload. <\/p>\n

Gutierrez Reed acknowledged that she was struggling to perform two jobs \u2014 armorer and props assistant. In addition to serving as the armorer in charge of guns and gun safety, she was supposed to assist Zachry with the other props. In text message exchanges with production managers <\/a>before the fatal shooting, Gutierrez Reed protested her workload, saying she was being stretched<\/a> too thin. <\/p>\n

A production manager had scolded Gutierrez Reed<\/a> for not paying sufficient attention to her props role. <\/p>\n

\u201cSince we\u2019ve started, I\u2019ve had a lot of days where my job should only be to focus on the guns and everyone\u2019s safety,\u201d Gutierrez Reed responded in an Oct. 14, 2021, email viewed by The Times. <\/p>\n

Gutierrez Reed is the daughter of a legendary Hollywood armorer, Thell Reed. Although she grew up visiting film sets, \u201cRust\u201d was only her second film as head armorer. <\/p>\n

The accident happened on the 12th day of filming for the scheduled 21-day production. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere were multiple breaks in the chain of responsibility and if any one of these <\/b>individuals who are facing criminal charges had exercised more caution, this tragedy could have been avoided,\u201d Ahouraian said.<\/p>\n

The Times has previously revealed a struggle to find qualified crew members to work on \u201cRust.\u201d <\/p>\n

The prosecution could be complicated by the case\u2019s notoriety \u2014 most everyone in Santa Fe is familiar with the case, increasing the challenges of finding an impartial jury. What\u2019s more, the defendants could bring a spirited defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a huge case for a smaller population county,\u201d Kastenberg, a former prosecutor, said. \u201cWhenever you go up against a powerful entity \u2014 like a Hollywood star who has a tremendous media reach \u2014 you want to get it right and you don\u2019t want to look like a fool.\u201d<\/p>\n

The media spotlight adds to the pressure facing Carmack-Altwies and her office. <\/p>\n

\n
\"Santa <\/picture>\n
\n

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, left, and Dist. Atty. Mary Carmack-Altwies arrive for an October 2021 press conference about the criminal investigation regarding the fatal shooting on the set of \u201cRust.\u201d <\/p>\n

(AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe D.A. wants to show their constituency that they are not afraid to take any case, and that they will handle it ethically, and rightly,\u201d Kastenberg said. \u201cThis one might become politicized. But, as the D.A., you can only bring charges that the evidence supports.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the criminal cases, several civil negligence suits are pending.<\/p>\n

Two film crew members inside the church when the shooting occurred \u2014 lighting technician Serge Svetnoy, who was nearly hit by the bullet, and script supervisor Mamie Mitchell<\/a> \u2014 sued. <\/p>\n

Gutierrez Reed last year sued the weapons provider, Seth Kenney of PDQ Arm & Prop,<\/a> alleging that he supplied a mismarked box of ammunition containing live rounds to the set, contributing to the deadly accident. Kenney has said he did not provide live ammunition to the \u201cRust\u201d set. <\/p>\n

Hutchins was killed just as her career was beginning to take off in a largely male-dominated field. She graduated from the American Film Institute Conservatory in 2015 and had been selected as one of American Cinematographer\u2019s Rising Stars of 2019.<\/p>\n

The movie\u2019s producers<\/a> have denied responsibility for the tragedy. <\/p>\n

In a filing <\/a>to the New Mexico Environment Department\u2019s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, Rust Movie Productions LLC <\/a> argued that the producers did not serve as the on-set employers. <\/p>\n

Last April, the bureau imposed the maximum penalty, $136,793 fine<\/a>, on Rust Movie Productions, acccusing
production managers of \u201cplain indifference\u201d to employee safety and ignoring safety procedures. <\/p>\n

Rust Movie Productions is appealing the decision; a hearing on the matter is set for April. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, producers hope to resume production of the movie \u201cRust\u201d this spring near Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Times staff writer Anousha Sakoui contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Meg James<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Mexico prosecutors said they are filing felony criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin and the armorer of the low-budget western \u201cRust,\u201d following the fatal shooting of the film\u2019s cinematographer. The charges represent a dramatic culmination of more than a year of speculation over who would be held accountable for the death of cinematographer Halyna […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":599140,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[869,534,4364],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-599139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-baldwin","category-financial","category-weapons"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=599139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/599140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=599139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=599139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=599139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}