(CNN) — Prosecutors in the fatal shooting case during the filming of the movie “Rust” plan to file to dismiss the manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin, his attorney, Luke Nikas, told CNN.
CNN has contacted the special prosecutor in the Santa Fe, New Mexico case for comment.
Halyna Hutchins, the film’s cinematographer, was killed on set when actor/producer Alec Baldwin discharged a prop firearm while rehearsing a scene on the set of “Rust” in 2021. Baldwin has pleaded not guilty.
Director Joel Souza was also shot.
Baldwin and “Rust” gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez Reed were charged with manslaughter in January. Baldwin pleaded not guilty. An attorney for Gutierrez Reed previously said she will plead not guilty and has maintained her innocence. A preliminary hearing in her case is set for May 3.
Prosecutors dropped the manslaughter charges against the actor after a defense appeal, reducing a potential prison sentence from 5 years to a maximum of 18 months.
The ‘firearm enhancement’ law was passed in New Mexico after what happened on the set of the movie Rust. It is applied in the event that the shot produced with the firearm involved in the act in question was made with the intention of intimidating or injuring a person.
Had Baldwin been tried under the terms of that law, he faced five years in jail.”
“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, told CNN.
An image of the Bonanza Creek Ranch, where production of “Rust” was halted in 2021. Credit: Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office/AFP via Getty Images
Thursday’s development comes a month after the special prosecutor in the case, Andrea Reeb, resigned, following a motion by Baldwin’s attorney to disqualify Reeb as “unconstitutional” under New Mexico law because of his elected position in the New Mexico House of Representatives. Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies also walked away from the case, naming New Mexico attorneys Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis to serve as special prosecutors.
Earlier this year, the film’s assistant director, David Halls, signed a plea agreement “on the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon,” the prosecutor’s office also announced in its statement, adding that the terms of that agreement include six months of suspended probation.
As part of a wrongful death settlement between Matthew Hutchins, Halyna Hutchins’ widower Baldwin, and the producers of “Rust,” production on the film has resumed. Matthew Hutchins now serves as an executive producer on the project.
(CNN) — Prosecutors in the fatal shooting case during the filming of the movie “Rust” plan to file to dismiss the manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin, his attorney, Luke Nikas, told CNN.
CNN has contacted the special prosecutor in the Santa Fe, New Mexico case for comment.
Halyna Hutchins, the film’s cinematographer, was killed on set when actor/producer Alec Baldwin discharged a prop firearm while rehearsing a scene on the set of “Rust” in 2021. Baldwin has pleaded not guilty.
Director Joel Souza was also shot.
Baldwin and “Rust” gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez Reed were charged with manslaughter in January. Baldwin pleaded not guilty. An attorney for Gutierrez Reed previously said she will plead not guilty and has maintained her innocence. A preliminary hearing in her case is set for May 3.
Prosecutors dropped the manslaughter charges against the actor after a defense appeal, reducing a potential prison sentence from 5 years to a maximum of 18 months.
The ‘firearm enhancement’ law was passed in New Mexico after what happened on the set of the movie Rust. It is applied in the event that the shot produced with the firearm involved in the act in question was made with the intention of intimidating or injuring a person.
Had Baldwin been tried under the terms of that law, he faced five years in jail.”
“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, told CNN.
An image of the Bonanza Creek Ranch, where production of “Rust” was halted in 2021. Credit: Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office/AFP via Getty Images
Thursday’s development comes a month after the special prosecutor in the case, Andrea Reeb, resigned, following a motion by Baldwin’s attorney to disqualify Reeb as “unconstitutional” under New Mexico law because of his elected position in the New Mexico House of Representatives. Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies also walked away from the case, naming New Mexico attorneys Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis to serve as special prosecutors.
Earlier this year, the film’s assistant director, David Halls, signed a plea agreement “on the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon,” the prosecutor’s office also announced in its statement, adding that the terms of that agreement include six months of suspended probation.
As part of a wrongful death settlement between Matthew Hutchins, Halyna Hutchins’ widower Baldwin, and the producers of “Rust,” production on the film has resumed. Matthew Hutchins now serves as an executive producer on the project.
