The prosecutors in a 2021 New Mexico shooting case say the defendant, Alec Baldwin, lost control of his emotions on set. They claim that he put others in danger and changed his story in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a movie set in New Mexico in 2021.
Baldwin was making “Rust” at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe when a gun he was holding fired a live round and killed Hutchins, 42. A grand jury indicted him on a charge of manslaughter on January 19, 2024, but he pleaded not guilty.
Besides facing one charge of involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors are alleging Baldwin exhibited “bullyish behavior on set.” Furthermore, they say he changed his story to cast blame on others after Hutchins died.
Three weeks after Baldwin’s lawyers urged the judge to dismiss the grand jury’s indictment, state prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis filed the state’s response to the defense’s motion. They slammed Baldwin’s team for allegedly sharing “predictably false (and) misleading” facts and engaging in “countless lies and manipulation.”
ALSO READ: New Mexico Jury Finds “Rust” Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter
In their 316-page filing, prosecutors paint Baldwin as a demanding actor and producer of the project. They claim he flaunted safety precautions, did not heed directions from his director, and changed his story about the shooting. “To watch Mr. Baldwin’s conduct on the set of ‘Rust,'” the filing said.
“Is to witness a man who has absolutely no control of his emotions.” The papers, filed in First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, further condemned Alec Baldwin. It claimed he had no concern for how his conduct affects those around him. Notably, the filing, on Friday, April 5, 2024, was in response to Baldwin’s team’s request to dismiss the charge.
The actor’s team raised concerns that testimony was “unfairly stacking the deck” against him. Prosecutors claim the motion to dismiss is “a predictably false, misleading, and histrionic misrepresentation of the facts of the case.”
Furthermore, they accused Alec Baldwin, the movie’s lead producer, of hiring Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, a “young and inexperienced armorer.” Prosecutors say Baldwin hired then-24 Gutierrez-Reed to handle all the film’s guns.
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The filing also claimed that other crew members noticed Gutierrez-Reed was inexperienced and overwhelmed. In addition, prosecutors alleged that Alec Baldwin arrived on set on October 12, 2021, one week after filming had begun. As a result, he missed the initial firearms training offered to other actors.
Although he had a separate training session, prosecutors claimed he was “inattentive.” The actor allegedly spent time on the phone with his family and making videos of himself with guns. When Alec Baldwin shot Hutchins, the cast was preparing for a scene.
The filing said the actor was to pull his gun from its holster slowly—not fire it. However, prosecutors say he went against director Joel Souza’s instructions. In his defense, Baldwin has denied the claims. The actor said he did not pull the gun’s trigger before it fired.
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Furthermore, Alec Baldwin claimed that assistant director Dave Halls had declared the firearm “cold,” meaning it had no live ammunition. However, prosecutors dismissed the actor’s statement. They accused him of offering contradictory information to the authorities.
“In sum, every time Mr. Baldwin spoke, a different version of events emerged from his mouth,” the court filing said. While Baldwin’s trial is still ongoing, the court found Gutierrez-Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
However, a jury cleared her of tampering with evidence at a trial in March. Hence, she faces up to 18 months in a state prison.
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