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Alec Baldwin will be indicted on involuntary manslaughter today for the shooting of Rust’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The actor, 64, will be charged along with the film’s weapons supervisor, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, in the October 2021 death during rehearsal on the set of the western film.
The 30 Rock star, who was photographed looking somber on Sunday as he strolled through New York carrying his phone and documents while his wife Hilaria unloaded their car, could face trial this year for the murder.
Hilaria, 39, admitted she doesn’t “feel as strong” after a state prosecutor announced Jan. 19 that her husband would face charges.
Alec Baldwin will be indicted on involuntary manslaughter today for the shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (pictured in New York on Sunday)
She said on a recent episode of her Witches Anonymous podcast: ‘It’s been an emotional time for my family. And I want to express how grateful I am for your support and your kindness and your reason.
‘Honestly, without him, we would fall apart. So, thank you very much for being our rock right now because I don’t feel so strong.’
In recent weeks, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies has outlined two sets of manslaughter charges in connection with the shooting of Baldwin and film set weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
The district attorney said through a spokeswoman Monday that his office will release charging documents and a statement of probable cause outlining the evidence.
Hutchins’ death has already prompted new security precautions in the film industry.
The 64-year-old actor stepped out for a walk alone carrying some papers and bundled up in a navy puffer jacket.
Hilaria Baldwin, 39, was photographed unloading her car at the family home after a short drive.
Baldwin is set to be indicted on felony manslaughter charges today.
Hilaria, 39, admitted she doesn’t “feel as strong” after a state prosecutor announced Jan. 19 that her husband would face charges.
Manslaughter can involve a murder that occurs while the defendant is doing something lawful but dangerous and is acting negligently or recklessly.
Special counsel Andrea Reeb has cited a pattern of “criminal disregard for safety” on the set of Rust.
Prosecutors also said they will release the terms of a plea agreement signed with assistant director David Halls, who oversaw security on the set.
Participants in the unfilmed trial have given conflicting accounts of who gave Baldwin the gun.
Halls agreed to plead guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon, they said.
The assistant principal is even expected to testify against Baldwin if he goes to trial.
Previous witnesses have said Halls handed the gun to Baldwin and declared it a “cold weapon” despite the presence of live ammunition in the chamber, according to a search warrant.
Alec and Hilaria are shown last week leaving town as he prepares to face possible trial.
Hutchins was the film’s cinematographer and is shown here on her Instagram page.
‘Cold Gun’ is a term used on sets to notify that live ammunition is not being used.
In a December statement to the New Mexico Office of Occupational Safety and Health, Halls denied giving the gun to Baldwin and said he gave it to Gutierrez-Reed. He also accused Gutierrez-Reed of declaring ‘cold gun’.
Halls also likened Hutchins’ death to a plane crash in that it was not the fault of any one person but rather “a system failure”.
Halls told the statement that she had “no recollection” of saying “cold gun,” adding: “I remember Hannah saying it.”
It’s like what they say about a plane crash. It’s like it’s not one thing, you know. It is a system failure.
Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said in a statement Monday that prosecutors are “fully focused on securing justice for Halyna Hutchins” and that “the evidence and facts speak for themselves.”
Baldwin, also a co-producer of Rust, described the murder as a tragic accident.
By November, Baldwin had launched a lawsuit against Halls, as well as other production staff.
David Halls, the first assistant director on the set of Rust, is likely to testify against Alec Baldwin
The 64-year-old actor said he was told the gun was safe and tried to clear his name by suing the people involved in handling and supplying the loaded .45 caliber revolver.
In his lawsuit, Baldwin said that while working on camera angles with Hutchins, he pointed the gun in her direction and pulled back and released the firing pin on the gun, which fired.
Defense attorney Jason Bowles, who is representing Gutierrez-Reed, said the charges are the result of a “flawed investigation” and an “inaccurate understanding of all the facts.”
Negligent-related manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony, punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine under New Mexico law.
The second set of manslaughter charges allege recklessness with a provision that could result in a mandatory five years in prison because the crime was committed with a weapon.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, film set gunsmith, will also be charged with involuntary manslaughter
Once charges are filed in court, Baldwin will receive a summons, but he won’t have to go to New Mexico to honor it in person.
Instead, you will be allowed to appear before a judge virtually.
The hearing is the first step in a long judicial process.
A judge must then review the evidence that prosecutors have collected and decide whether or not the case can proceed to trial.
This is known as a probable cause hearing.
If Baldwin pleads not guilty, which he is expected to do, the case will go to trial.
If convicted, Baldwin has the right to appeal and is likely to file one.
The sentence would probably stay until them.
Baldwin faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison for being convicted of manslaughter with the firearm augmentation prosecutors discussed today.
The manslaughter charge also carries a $5,000 fine.
The key questions that remain UNANSWERED as prosecutors prepare to formally file charges in the Rust shooting
Alec Baldwin and Rust gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will be charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.
But despite prosecutors saying they are responsible for the accidental death, two key questions remain unanswered.
I mean, how did the live bullets end up on the film set to begin with? And Alec Baldwin pulled the trigger?
Why were there live bullets on the Rust set?
Baldwin received the gun from Deputy Chief Dave Halls, who had been given the gun by weapons supervisor Gutierrez-Reed.
She has always insisted that it’s not her fault and doesn’t know how a live round ended up mixed up with dummy rounds on set.
It is unclear how they came to be at the ranch.
Gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Baldwin insisted that she brought the rounds live to the set and that she was to blame.
Seth Kenney, the prop shop owner who supplied the test rounds for Rust, had real and test rounds in his shop.
He told police Gutierrez-Reed had been shooting live bullets on the set, but did not say where he got the bullets.
That is the question that Baldwin believes is at the center of the investigation.
He has long argued that whoever brought those rounds on set and mixed them up with mannequins is at fault, and his fans agree.
Did Alec Baldwin pull the trigger or not?
The shooting happened while Baldwin was rehearsing, which is why he insists he did not pull the trigger.
He says he took the gun out of its holster and held it up in front of Hutchins, director Joel Souza and the rest of the team.
Crucially, he has always maintained that it was ‘cocked’, but says he did not fire it.
Those comments were undermined by an FBI report released in August that said it was impossible for the gun to fire while cocked unless the trigger had been pulled.
The same report said that it was possible for the gun to fire without pulling the trigger if the gun was not cocked.
However, Baldwin’s lawyers rejected that report. They said it was based on evidence that was not extensive. He is expected to be shredded at trial.
The damning FBI report that said the gun could not have fired without pulling the trigger while cocked, as Baldwin claimed it was