Alec Baldwin, gunsmith, to be charged with Rust shooting

Andrew Hay

(Reuters) – Actor Alec Baldwin and gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reid will face manslaughter charges on Tuesday for killing cameraman Halina Hutchins on the set of the 2021 Western western Rust, a New Mexico prosecutor said.

The allegations followed 15 months of speculation about whether District Attorney Mary Carmack-Oltwis would find evidence that Baldwin demonstrated criminal disregard for safety when the revolver he was rehearsing with fired a live round, killing Hutchins.

The Studio 30 actor denied responsibility for the shooting, saying he cocked the revolver but never pulled the trigger, and it was the job of Gutierrez-Reed and the other weapons specialists to ensure that the revolver was not loaded.

The most serious charge, which carries a five-year prison sentence, would require prosecutors to convince a jury that Baldwin was not only careless, but reckless in his use of a firearm.

“The evidence and facts speak for themselves,” Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the Carmack-Oltvis office, said in a statement.

An investigation by the sheriff’s office has yet to reveal how live ammunition made it to the set outside of Santa Fe.

Legal analysts say prosecutors will fight for a guilty verdict without evidence. Baldwin and Gutiérrez-Reid were aware of the presence of live ammunition but took no precautions.

Industry-wide firearm safety regulations direct actors to assume that the firearm is loaded with blanks and to rely on professional gun handlers to ensure its safe use. Live ammunition is strictly prohibited on set.

Gutierrez-Reed said she checked the cartridges she loaded into the revolver were dummies before handing it over to first assistant director Dave Halls. According to police, Halls handed it to Baldwin, telling him it was a “cold gun” or unloaded.

Halls signed a plea agreement with prosecutors on misdemeanor charges.

On December 7, the gunsmith testified to the New Mexico State Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) that the shooting could have been prevented if she had had more time to train Baldwin. She said he was in “bad shape” when using a revolver.

The story goes on

According to her, Baldwin had a habit of cocking his revolver and then pulling the trigger to pull the trigger, rather than slowly lowering it with his thumb after a scene was over.

“If you don’t release the trigger slowly, the gun will go off,” Gutierrez-Reid said.

A lawyer representing Baldwin did not respond to a request for comment.

Gabrielle Pickle, the film’s line producer, told OSHA on December 20 that Gutierrez-Reed had been given all the days she requested to carry out her gunsmithing duties.

(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; editing by Christopher Cushing)

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