Alec Baldwin to be tried for killing Galina Hutchins on set

Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin will be charged with manslaughter while filming Rust. Writes about it The New York Times.

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Actor Alec Baldwin will be charged with manslaughter for handling the gun that went off on the set of Rust, killing cinematographer Galina Hutchins. The film's gunsmith who loaded the gun will face the same charge, prosecutors in New Mexico have announced.

Prosecutors said they would charge Baldwin with two counts of manslaughter, saying he had a duty to ensure that weapons and ammunition were properly inspected and that he should never have pointed it at anyone.

"You don't point a gun at someone you don't want to shoot," Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said in an interview. “This meets basic safety standards.”

The criminal charges were a notable event in the career of the 64-year-old Baldwin, who has been a household name for decades.

Baldwin, producer and star of Rust, has long denied involvement in the shooting, noting that he was told the gun he rehearsed with did not contain live ammunition.

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"Someone is responsible for what happened and I can't say who it is, but I know it's not me," Baldwin said in a television interview in 2022. He also said he was simply following directions on where to point the gun when he fired, killing the film's cinematographer Galina Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

Baldwin's lawyer, Luke Nikas, said: "This decision misrepresents the tragic death of Galina Hutchins and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice. Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe that there was a live bullet in the gun or anywhere else on the set. He relied on the professionals he worked with who assured him that the gun was free of live ammunition. We will fight these accusations and win."

Hannah Gutierrez-Reid, the on-set gunsmith who loaded the gun that day, will also be charged with two counts of manslaughter. The film's first assistant director, Dave Halls, who gave Mr. Baldwin the gun, agreed to plead guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon in exchange for a suspended sentence and six months' probation.

“If any of these three people — Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reid, or David Halls — had done their job, Galina Hutchins would be alive today,” Andrea Reeb, the district attorney-appointed special counsel, said in a statement. simply. The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on set. There's no place in New Mexico for movie sets that don't take our state's commitment to gun safety and public safety seriously."

If Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reid are found guilty of manslaughter, they face a five-year sentence. Another charge of manslaughter carries a sentence of up to 18 months.

Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reid's lawyer, said his client was not responsible for manslaughter, calling the investigation into the case "defective."

The decision to prosecute came 15 months after the fatal shooting on October 21, 2021, when Mr Baldwin pulled out a revolver for a close-up. Prosecutors were waiting for the final report from the sheriff's office, which was submitted in October.

After the shooting, authorities found five more live rounds on the set, including on the cart where the props were stored and on the belt Mr. Baldwin wore as part of his costume. But an investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office failed to answer a key question in the case: how live ammunition ended up on the set.

The investigation focused on those who supplied and physically handled the weapons and ammunition for the film, some pointing to their colleagues in statements to journalists or in interviews with investigators.

The tragedy led to several lawsuits, including from members of the film crew, who accused management of failing to properly follow safety protocols.

During an interview with the sheriff's office, some members of the crew spoke about the lack of regular security meetings on set. The night before filming, most of the crew quit due to complaints about accommodations and other problems; Lane Luper, director of filming, wrote that the shooting of the shootout scenes was "very fast and sloppy", citing two accidental gunshots.

Baldwin claimed that he was not responsible for the shooting, saying that Hutchins told him where to point the gun and that he did not pull the trigger. He told investigators that he pulled back the bolt and released it, which could have resulted in him being shot.

“I know 1000 percent that I am not responsible for what happened to her,” Mr. Baldwin told investigator Detective Alexandria Hancock in a phone call after the shooting.

Carmack-Oltvis said analysis of the gun "convincingly" showed that the trigger had been pulled.

A lawyer for 25-year-old Ms. Gutierrez-Reed, who was the lead gunsmith on another film before The Rust, previously said that on the set of The Rust, she played two roles - a gunsmith and a prop assistant, which complicated the task and interfered with she will focus entirely on her job as a gunsmith.

Gutierrez-Reid also accused Seth Kenney, the main supplier of guns and ammunition, of being responsible for the shooting, alleging in a lawsuit against him and his company that what he sent to the set contained live ammunition mixed with dummies - inert cartridges that are used on film sets. In an interview with investigators, she said she checked the gun and all six rounds of ammunition she loaded into Mr. Baldwin's gun that day, but she also added, "I wish I had checked it more."

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Kenny said he checked all the ammunition he provided for filming to make sure it wasn't live ammunition, stating that Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for handling weapons and ammunition on set.

A lawyer for Mr Halls, 63 — the first assistant director who, according to court documents, said the gun was 'blank' on set that day — had previously said it was not his job to make sure the gun was safe. for use.

Last year, Matthew Hutchins, Miss Hutchins' widower, agreed to settle his lawsuit. Under the agreement, Hutchins will executive produce Rust, which was scheduled to resume filming in January.

Hutchins' attorney, Brian Panish, said he agreed with the decision to prosecute.

“The family takes comfort in the fact that in New Mexico, no one is above the law,” Panish said. “We support the charges, will cooperate fully with this prosecution, and sincerely hope that the justice system works to protect the public and hold accountable those who break the law.”

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• On October 21, 2021, on the set of the film, Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin accidentally killed the cameraman and injured the director. The Ukrainian woman was killed. Sources claim that she could have filmed her own death.
• Court records show that weapons were readily available gunsmith and film assistant director.
• According to sources, the set was in complete chaos with weapons.
• The police are checking information on Alec's phone Baldwin.
• In November, the head of the lighting team on the set of the western "Rust" (Rust) Sergey Svetnoy filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles (California) because of the shooting on the set.
• Alec Baldwin gave an interview in December for the first time since the death of cameraman Galina Hutchins. The actor stated that he did not pull the trigger of the revolver.
• Family of slain Rust cameraman Galina Hutchins February 15 filed a wrongful death lawsuit against actor Alec Baldwin and film producers, citing cost-cutting measures as the cause of the tragedy. Relatives of the deceased accused Baldwin and others of reckless behavior.
• FBI forensics on the murder of Galina Hutchins say the gun could not have fired on its own. Baldwin pulled the trigger though he denies it. Court blamed for the murder of Galina Hutchins exclusively on Alec Baldwin.
• Later it became known that Alec Baldwin reached an out-of-court settlement with relatives cinematographer Galina Hutchins.
• Also Baldwin filed a lawsuit against several people associated with the filming of the film "Rust".
• Read the stories of the worst tragedies and accidents that occurred directly on the set in our material.

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