“After extensive investigation over the past several months, additional facts have come to light that we believe show Mr. Baldwin has criminal culpability” in the case, said special prosecutors Kari T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis in a statement. “We believe the appropriate course of action is to permit a panel of New Mexico citizens to determine from here whether Mr. Baldwin should be held over for criminal trial.”
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in October 2021 on the set of the low-budget movie that was filming near Santa Fe while Baldwin was rehearsing a scene by drawing a prop revolver. The weapon fired, fatally shooting Hutchins and wounding the film’s director.
The prosecutors intend to present the case to a grand jury within the next two months, they said. The grand jury will determine whether probable cause exists exists to bind Baldwin over on criminal charges. The charge under consideration will again be involuntary manslaughter, according to three people close to the case who were not authorized to comment.
“It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into this misguided prosecution,” said Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, in a statement. “We will answer any charges in court.”
The possible refiling of charges represents the latest turn in the case for Baldwin, who faced legal jeopardy on multiple fronts after the on-set tragedy, including civil lawsuits. Baldwin is the star and a producer of “Rust,” which restarted production in April.
Baldwin was earlier charged with involuntary manslaughter, but that case fell apart, sparking criticism of the prosecutors’ handling of the case. After Morrissey and her law partner Jason J. Lewis took over the troubled “Rust” prosecution last spring, they dropped the charges against Baldwin, saying new information had come to light that needed to be investigated.
Baldwin later traveled to Montana to complete filming of the western movie.
A New Mexico judge earlier this month ordered “Rust” movie producers to turn over records demanded by prosecutors. The special prosecutor, Morrissey, wanted to learn more about Baldwin’s financial arrangements — and whether he stood to profit if the movie was delivered on time and under budget.
Morrissey is probing why production managers denied a request by weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez Reed for additional days to train Baldwin on the use of his .45 caliber revolver. The gun fired during a rehearsal when Baldwin was practicing a cross-draw maneuver. Firearms experts have said Baldwin likely pulled the trigger, which Baldwin denies doing.
During a Oct. 6 court hearing in Santa Fe, conducted virtually, Morrissey said the producers’ actions contributed to the deadly October 2021 shooting that claimed the life of Hutchins, 42. Morrissey also alleged that producers have attempted to thwart aspects of the criminal investigation.
The special prosecutor is pursuing felony involuntary manslaughter charges against the “Rust” armorer Gutierrez Reed, who acknowledges loading the weapon which was given to Baldwin by another crew member that day. The film’s assistant director, David Halls, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon earlier this year. Halls has since retired from the film industry.
Morrissey did not rule out bringing new counts against Baldwin.
Sources told The Times that prosecutors were told that the gun had been modified before arriving on set, potentially making it easier for it to discharge. However, the weapons provider, Seth Kenney, has stated during questioning that the gun wasn’t altered. Kenney said he had just received the weapon — a Pietta-manufactured replica of a vintage 1880s Colt .45 — from his supplier, before turning it over to film’s prop master.
Baldwin and other producers have said they are not to blame for the actions of others in the crew.
“Rust” producers have received scrutiny for their management of the conditions on the set of the western.
New Mexico’s Occupational Safety and Health Bureau originally filed a complaint, saying “Rust” managers “demonstrated plain indifference” to employee safety and levied a $136,793 fine for safety violations that led to the death of Hutchins.
Camera crew members walked off the set hours before the fatal shooting, protesting what they called safety concerns.
After an appeal by the producers, the safety violations fine was reduced to $100,000. New Mexico regulators also agreed to downgrade its citation of the violations from “willful-serious” to “serious.”
On Oct. 6, the lawyer for Rust Movie Productions suggested the state’s efforts to obtain documents was a back-door way to glean information to potentially bring new criminal charges against the high-profile actor.
“The state has made it very clear in its statements that it’s still considering bringing charges against Alec Baldwin,” attorney Abigail R. Wolberg said during the hearing. “I see these subpoenas as nothing more than continuing down that path.”
Instead, Wolberg laid responsibility for the tragedy on Gutierrez Reed, who Wolberg said was an independent contractor — not an employee of Rust Movie Productions. Wolberg said documents the prosecutor sought were irrelevant to the state’s case against Gutierrez Reed.
New Mexico First Judicial District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled the “Rust” producers must turn over the documents that Morrissey requested by Oct. 20 — the eve of the second anniversary of the tragedy.
Prosecutors have stepped up their case against Gutierrez Reed, who has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering charges. Morrissey has said Gutierrez Reed was “the most culpable defendant in a case that resulted in the senseless death of another person.”
In June, special prosecutors accused Gutierrez Reed of drinking and smoking marijuana during off-hours while the western was in production. They have alleged that she probably was hung over on the fatal day when Baldwin’s gun fired during the rehearsal in an old wooden church at Bonanza Creek Ranch. Her attorneys have challenged the allegations, saying there was no proof of drug use.