Charges were also filed against gun expert Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who worked at the site.
Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin has been formally charged with the unintentional murder of Ukrainian-born cameraman Halyna Hutchins.
On Tuesday, Jan. 31, Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altvis formally charged Baldwin with two counts of manslaughter. The actor is charged with reckless disregard for safety procedures that led to the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins during the 2021 New Mexico filming of «Rust».
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altvis indicted after months of speculation whether Baldwin had evidence that
he was criminally negligent when the revolver he was rehearsing with was fired from the cartridge that killed Hutchins,» says the report.
In addition to Baldwin, charges were also brought against weapons expert Hanna Gutierrez-Reid, who worked on the TV series «Grow Up».
Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged with two counts of manslaughter. The most serious charge, which could carry a five-year prison sentence, would require prosecutors to convince a jury that Baldwin acted with willful disregard for the safety of others.
Baldwin’s attorney declined to comment. Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney said the prosecutor «completely misunderstood the facts and came to the wrong conclusions.»
A statement from Robert Schilling, a special investigator for the prosecutor’s office, said Baldwin was charged as an actor and producer of a low-budget film.
Baldwin’s refusal to get sufficient firearms training, to check with the gunsmith whether the revolver was loaded, or to address safety complaints from the crew, Schilling cited among his many «extremely reckless actions and reckless inaction» that ultimately led to Hutchins’ death. For his part, Baldwin denies responsibility for the shooting at the church where he accidentally shot Hutchins, saying the cameraman ordered him to point the gun at the camera, he raised the revolver but did not pull the trigger.
Recall that on October 21, 2021, during the filming of «Rust,» Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed Ukrainian-born cameraman Halyna Hutchins and wounded director of photography Joel Souza. The actor assured that he did not know that the gun was loaded.
