New Mexico prosecutors in Alec Baldwin’s 2021 involuntary manslaughter case said the actor behaved negligently on the “Rust” set before fatally shooting the film’s cinematographer.
According to TMZ, prosecutors said Baldwin fired a blank round at a crew member while using them for a line of sight. They also claimed Baldwin would point the gun while directing the crew — in addition to firing it after “cut” was called and filming was done.
TMZ reported that prosecutors claimed Baldwin would have his finger on the trigger even while filming scenes. Baldwin allegedly FaceTimed his family while being trained on firearm safety by armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who he reportedly also rushed to reload his gun during filming.
The actor is accused of fatally shooting “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set in 2021. His lawyers claim he was a creative director for “Rust” and did not control on-set operations. His attorneys also said his gun was modified to make it easier to fire without the trigger being pulled.
Baldwin has claimed he was showing how he would pull a gun from the holster when the weapon fired in a mock church pew at Bonanza Creek Ranch — leading to a single bullet traveling through Souza’s shoulder which then struck Hutchins.
The actor also told officers that he believed the gun was cold when he was rehearsing a cross draw. However, the FBI’s investigation concluded that it could not have fired without someone pulling the trigger.
Baldwin was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter in January 2023, but prosecutors dropped the charges in April 2023. At the time, prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis said they needed additional time to investigate new information presented to them, and that their review would not be completed before Alec Baldwin’s preliminary hearing.
The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled. Prosecutors did just that in January.
In March, Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering. Sentenced to 18 months in prison, Reed said that weapons supplier Seth Kenney, not her, was responsible for mixing live and dummy rounds.
Baldwin’s trial is scheduled to begin next month.
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[Featured image: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File]
