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Alec Baldwin speaks on the phone in a parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office in Santa Fe, New Mexico on October 21, 2021.Jim Webber/Associated Press
Actor Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reid will be charged Tuesday involuntary manslaughter Prosecutors in New Mexico have ruled against the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the 2021 western “Rust.”
District Attorney Mary Carmack Ortwis announced on Jan. 19 that she would be indicted by the end of the month, according to Baldwin’s display of criminal disregard for safety when the revolver he was rehearsing for fired live rounds. Judging by the evidence, Hutchins.
The “30 Rock” actor denied responsibility for the shooting, cocked the revolver but never pulled the trigger, and Gutierrez Reid and other weapons experts confirm that the bullet was disarmed. said it was the job of
The most serious charge of five years in prison requires prosecutors to convince jurors that Baldwin was reckless and not negligent in his use of firearms.
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“The evidence and facts speak for themselves,” Carmack Altwise spokeswoman Heather Brewer said in a statement.
The sheriff’s office investigation has yet to reveal how the live ammunition ended up on the set outside Santa Fe.
Legal analysts say prosecutors will have a hard time winning convictions without evidence that Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed knew of live ammunition but failed to take precautions. increase.
Industry-wide firearm safety guidelines assume firearms are blank-loaded and direct actors to rely on professional weapon handlers to ensure weapon safety. Actors are told to point weapons at people only under the guidance of a firearms expert.Live ammunition on set is strictly prohibited.
After Gutierrez-Reed confirmed that the bullet he loaded into the revolver was a dummy, he handed it to the first assistant director, Dave Halls. I was told that it had been unloaded.
Halls signed a plea bargain with prosecutors on misdemeanor charges.
Public relations experts say Baldwin has repeatedly denied responsibility and may have pleaded guilty by giving a 2021 ABC television interview about the incident, which appeared to contradict parts of the police investigation. be.
“He was very arrogant towards them. You know he poked a bear,” said Larry Copp, founder of the TASC Group communications company.
The FBI’s forensic testing of the revolver found it to “work normally” and not fire unless the trigger was pulled.
The armorer testified to New Mexico’s Occupational Safety Agency (OSHA) on December 7 that the shooting could have been prevented had he had more time to train Baldwin. She said she had “bad form” when using a revolver.
Baldwin tended to cock the revolver, pull the trigger, and let go of the hammer, rather than slowly lowering the hammer with her thumb when the scene was over, she said.
“It’s common for guns to explode if you don’t release the hammer slowly,” said Gutierrez Reid.
A lawyer representing Baldwin did not respond to a request for comment.
Gabriel Pickles, the film’s line producer, told OSHA on Dec. 20 that Gutierrez Reed was given all the days he requested to perform his armorer duties.
