Alec Baldwin's 'prop firearm' kills one, injures another

Sheriff's office: Alec Baldwin discharged prop gun that killed crew member, wounded director

Baldwin is one of the film's star actors and producers. He went to the sheriff's office willingly and provided a statement to investigators, sheriff's office spokesman Juan Ríos said.

www.santafenewmexican.com

archive.md/jNQZQ

Actor Alec Baldwin discharged a "prop firearm" that killed a cinematographer and injured a the director of the movie Rust, being filmed on a set south of Santa Fe, a county sheriff's office spokesman said late Thursday.

Halyna Hutchins, 42 and the director of photography for the movie, died at University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. The film's director, Joel Souza, was hospitalized in Santa Fe, Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office spokesman Juan Ríos said.

A source closed to the investigation said Baldwin, 63, was questioned by investigators late Thursday and was seen by a New Mexican reporter and photographer in tears.

Investigators are still trying to determine if the incident was an accident, Ríos said. No charges have been filed, and the investigation remains open, Ríos wrote in a news release.

The prop was fired at Bonanza Creek Ranch, where filming was underway, the sheriff's office said in an early evening news release. Baldwin stars in the production.

Hutchins died from her injuries after she was flown to University of New Mexico Hospital, according to the sheriff's office. Souza was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, where he is receiving emergency care, the sheriff's office said. Attempts to get comment from Baldwin were unsuccessful.

“We received the devastating news this evening, that one of our members, Halyna Hutchins, the Director of Photography on a production called ‘Rust’ in New Mexico died from injuries sustained on the set,” John Lindley, the president of the International Cinematographers Guild Local 600, and Rebecca Rhine, the executive director, said in a statement, as reported by Variety. “The details are unclear at this moment, but we are working to learn more, and we support a full investigation into this tragic event. This is a terrible loss, and we mourn the passing of a member of our Guild’s family.”

Deputies were investigating how the accident occurred and "what type of projectile was discharged," the sheriff's office said in an earlier news release.

Rust Movie Productions did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Filming for Rust was set to continue into early November, according to a news release from the New Mexico Film Office. It's described as the story of a 13-year-old boy left to fend for himself and his younger brother following the death of their parents in 1880s Kansas, with New Mexico doubling for Kansas.

Guns firing blanks have been blamed for deaths in past movie productions. Online Hollywood news site Deadline reported, "Actor Jon-Erik Hexum was killed Oct. 18, 1984, on the set of the TV series Cover Up when he accidentally shot himself in the head with a gun loaded with blanks. And in 1993, Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, died after he was shot in the head by a gun firing blanks on the set of The Crow. Both incidents were determined to have been accidents."

This is a developing story and will be updated.

 

[Snekposter]

Halyna's parents and sister have filed civil suit, represented by none other than Gloria fucking Allred. Allred already represents a crew member who is claiming she got PTSD from being near the shooting. Hilariously right about the time she was filing this new lawsuit the lawyers for the production company are pushing for sanctions in the previous case because Allred is allegedly taking the piss and refusing to provide shit she's required to:

Oh, God... this is going to be hilarious good fun. Alec Baldwin, Gloria Allred... time to get a subforum in Lolcow and Lolcow going just for this.

 

[synapse]

Is there an archive of the dropbox posted by Santa Fe in april of 2022? They released a shit ton of stuff, crime scene photos, hours of bodycam etc, it all appears to be wiped and i cant find shit besides a few photos/screenshots now.

 

[East_Clintwood]

DA drops gun enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin in 'Rust' shooting

The Santa Fe District Attorney's Office announced it is dropping the gun enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin in the "Rust" shooting.

abcnews.go.com

DA drops gun enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin in 'Rust' shooti…

archived 20 Feb 2023 18:02:26 UTC

archive.is

Prosecutors have dropped the firearm enhancement for both Baldwin and the armorer, which was certainly the right call. One thing I do wanna draw attention to though is this shit:

“In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the “Rust” film set. The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys,” DA's office spokesperson Heather Brewer said in a statement.

Imagine the sheer fucking nerve to get caught trying to pull some ex post facto bollocks with the charges, getting called out on it and then throwing shade at Baldwin's lawyers who are doing their fucking job in pointing out your mistake.

 

[HackerX]

DA drops gun enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin in 'Rust' shooting

The Santa Fe District Attorney's Office announced it is dropping the gun enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin in the "Rust" shooting.

abcnews.go.com

DA drops gun enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin in 'Rust' shooti…

archived 20 Feb 2023 18:02:26 UTC

archive.is

Prosecutors have dropped the firearm enhancement for both Baldwin and the armorer, which was certainly the right call. One thing I do wanna draw attention to though is this shit:


Imagine the sheer fucking nerve to get caught trying to pull some ex post facto bollocks with the charges, getting called out on it and then throwing shade at Baldwin's lawyers who are doing their fucking job in pointing out your mistake.

A tale as old as time. Jews jewing Jews.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

Does anyone still expect Alec Baldwin to serve jail time? They’re not treating him the same way they did R. Kelly, even if it were unrelated crimes. Just the fact that they could compare this to O.J. Simpson’s verdict is just incredibly insane to think about.

 

[Terrifik]

Fuck this gay dead earth
All before the court hearing day Friday

The decision to drop the charge was a win for Baldwin, who makes his first court appearance on Friday.

Article:

DA drops gun enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin in 'Rust' shooting

The Santa Fe District Attorney's Office announced it is dropping the gun enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin in the "Rust" shooting.

abcnews.go.com

DA drops gun enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin in 'Rust' shooti…

archived 21 Feb 2023 03:45:01 UTC

archive.ph

18 months at most

The Santa Fe District Attorney's Office announced Monday it is dropping the gun enhancement charge -- a crime that would have carried a five-year sentence if convicted -- against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of "Rust" in October 2021.

Baldwin still faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting, however, that crime would carry a lesser sentence of 18 months if convicted. The amended complaint was filed late Friday.

The charge was also dropped against armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who faces the same involuntary manslaughter charge as Baldwin.

MORE: 'Rust' timeline: Key events in the Alec Baldwin on-set shooting
"In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the 'Rust' film set," Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said in a statement. "The prosecution's priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys."

The decision to drop the charge was a win for Baldwin, who makes his first court appearance on Friday.

Baldwin's legal team filled a motion Feb. 10 arguing that the five-year gun enhancement didn’t apply at the time of the shooting writing, "The prosecutors committed a basic legal error by charging Mr. Baldwin under a version of the firearm-enhancement statute that did not exist on the date of the accident." The accident occurred in October of 2021, but the current version of the law did not take effect until May 2022.

This file handout photo, courtesy of Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office and part of the investigative files, shows actor Alec Baldwin being processed after the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Oct. 21, 2022.
This file handout photo released April 25, 2022, courtesy of Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office and part of the investigative files, shows actor Alec Baldwin being processed after the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in...Show more
-/Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office
A week prior, his legal team filed a motion to disqualify Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor appointed by Carmack-Altwies, arguing she is also an elected member of the New Mexico House of Representative and therefore has a conflict of interest.

After the motion to dismiss the gun enhancement charge, the district attorney released a statement that also criticized his "fancy attorneys."

MORE: Alec Baldwin's attorney seeks to disqualify special prosecutor who investigated 'Rust' shooting
"Another day, another motion from Alec Baldwin and his attorneys in an attempt to distract from the gross negligence and complete disregard for safety on the 'Rust' film set that led to Halyna Hutchins' death," Heather Brewer, spokesperson for the New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney, said. "In accordance with good legal practice, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor will review all motions -- even those given to the media before being served to the DA. However, the DA's and the special prosecutor's focus will always remain on ensuring that justice is served and that everyone -- even celebrities with fancy attorneys -- is held accountable under the law."

 

[Jet Fuel Johnny]

If it was any of us, we'd already be a year into a life sentence.

 

[Krokodil Overdose]

If it was any of us, we'd already be a year into a life sentence.

Unless they found our KF account, in which case we'd be hoping to avoid the needle.

 

[Oilspill Battery]

- If she was prevented from being on set and had any reason to think they were accessing the firearms, that rises to the level of calling the cops. Employers will be angry and it will be some kind of shitshow, but the entire purpose of the job is managing risk on-set. If that means getting the jakes to shut it down before something terrible happens so be it. As armorer you're the designated responsible party. Usually in the paperwork that establishes that you hold out very explicitly that safety is paramount and you won't overlook things that could kill people just for job security. But for her failure to do that, this entire situation never could have happened.

Wise idea for a 20 year old to blacklist themselves permenantly from hollywood on the off chance that someone might be doing something retarded on set.

Yes in this case it would have actually helped but there was a 99.9% chance that you'd just piss off everyone on set including your boss and probably made yourself unemployable.

Its a lose lose sitiuation if you care about having a future.

 

[East_Clintwood]

Does anyone still expect Alec Baldwin to serve jail time?

I've never really expected him to serve actual time outside of some minimal symbolic bullshit anyway. However in this case I think the trial itself and any guilty verdict is probably just as good anyway. Watching the prosecution sit that smarmy faggot on the stand and throwing his bullshit back in his face will be awesome. Showing his whiny self serving interview where he claimed he would never ever point a gun at someone and then pull the trigger followed by the FBI report that states the gun physically couldn't have fired any other way. Bringing up his faggoty tweets about how movies should be forced to hire a cop to oversee firearms safety and then asking why as producer/financier/star he didn't push for this on his own movie etc etc.

 

[White Devil]

Unless they found our KF account, in which case we'd be hoping to avoid the needle.

I'd request firing squad, personally.

 

[Snekposter]

I'd request firing squad, personally.

Chair, in my case. See if anyone has the balls to flip the switch and watch me suffer in agony.

 

[Gorillion others]

firearm enhancement

Doesn't mean Alec didn't have a gun at the time. How is this for the best?

 

[pwnest injun]

Doesn't mean Alec didn't have a gun at the time. How is this for the best?

The enhancement penalty is part of a law that was passed after the crime had been committed. However, that doesn't mean that the Judge or jury couldn't take the seriousness of using a firearm in this way into account when it comes time for sentencing. In other words, he may not be facing a mandatory minimum of 5 years, but he could still get the max penalty for what he is facing, due to his multiple layers of culpability and extreme recklessness.

 

[East_Clintwood]

Doesn't mean Alec didn't have a gun at the time. How is this for the best?

Because as much as I hate Baldwin the fact is that tolerating ex post facto shenanigans is bullshit and a slippery slope. For the non legalese, non pretentious among us who don't speak latin, ex post facto literally means "after the fact" and is the legal principle that you should not be allowed to retroactively change laws to make something illegal nor increase it's penalty. Indeed it's such a big deal that the US constitution specifically prohibits both the federal and state governments from passing ex post facto laws, and then the New Mexico state constitution also explicitly bans it as well

This is current the law that prosecutors used to justify the firearm enhancement:

When a separate finding of fact by the court or jury shows that a firearm was discharged in the commission of a noncapital felony, the basic sentence of imprisonment prescribed for the offense in Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978 shall be increased by five years, except that when the offender is a serious youthful offender or a youthful offender who received an adult sentence, the sentence imposed by this subsection may be increased by three years.

Seems pretty cut and dry right? He discharged a firearm while committing involuntary manslaughter, which is a 4th degree felony.

However, the version of the law in effect at the time of the shooting:

When a separate finding of fact by the court or jury shows that a firearm was brandished in the commission of a noncapital felony, the basic sentence of imprisonment prescribed for the offense in Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978 shall be increased by three years, except that when the offender is a serious youthful offender or a youthful offender, the sentence imposed by this subsection may be increased by one year.

The important difference here is it requires the firearm be brandished, rather than discharged, and NM included a specific definition of what they mean by brandished.

As used in this section, “brandished” means displaying or making a firearm known to another person while the firearm is present on the person of the offending party with intent to intimidate or injure a person.

When they charged Baldwin they filed a 10 page statement of probable cause, which was previously posted here, which lays out the facts and notably at no point have they stated, or even implied, that Baldwin intended to intimidate or injure Halyna. There's lots of talk (and rightly so) of Baldwin being negligent or reckless, which backs the basic involuntary manslaughter charge, but that's it.

 

[Terrifik]

The Santa Fe District Attorney's Office announced Monday it is dropping the gun enhancement charge

.....................
Wonder why this video came out.

“After much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to step down as special prosecutor in the Rust case. My priority in this case — and in every case I’ve prosecuted in my 25-year career — has been justice for the victim. However, it has become clear that the best way I can ensure justice is served in this case is to step down so that the prosecution can focus on the evidence and the facts, which clearly show a complete disregard for basic safety protocols led to the death of Halyna Hutchins. I will not allow questions about my serving as a legislator and prosecutor to cloud the real issue at hand,” stated Reeb.

gay article

BREAKING: Alec Baldwin Gets Another Lucky Break In Grueling Court Battle Over ‘Rust’ Shooting

Actor Alec Baldwin has dodged a bullet in his legal efforts to avoid prison time for the accidental shooting death of a movie set staffer.

trendingpoliticsnews.com

Actor Alec Baldwin has dodged a bullet in his legal efforts to avoid prison time for the accidental shooting death of a movie set staffer.

Special prosecutor Andrea Reeb from the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office has voluntarily stepped down from the case to hold Baldwin accountable for the death of Halyna Hutchins after Baldwin pointed and allegedly fired a loaded gun at the cinematographer after being told the gun did not hold live rounds.

Baldwin’s attorney in February filed a motion to dismiss Reeb relating her position in the New Mexico state legislature, arguing that it would be unconstitutional for a lawmaker to serve in another branch of state government.

Reeb on Tuesday released a statement to Deadline appearing to acknowledge the impropriety of wearing multiple hats in a high-profile case that is testing the limits for prosecuting Hollywood stars under equal justice before the law:

“After much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to step down as special prosecutor in the Rust case. My priority in this case — and in every case I’ve prosecuted in my 25-year career — has been justice for the victim. However, it has become clear that the best way I can ensure justice is served in this case is to step down so that the prosecution can focus on the evidence and the facts, which clearly show a complete disregard for basic safety protocols led to the death of Halyna Hutchins. I will not allow questions about my serving as a legislator and prosecutor to cloud the real issue at hand,” stated Reeb.

Two other members of the movie set staff are facing charges resulting from the death of Hutchins. Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter while Assistant Director Dave Hall has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor weapons charge.

Baldwin, who sat for a primetime interview just weeks after the incident, maintained he did not pull the trigger which fired the shot killing Hutchins. The FBI disagreed in its assessment though has been unable to explain how live ammunition made its way into the gun’s chamber.

 

[Terrifik]

https://twitter.com/GeeksGamersCom/status/1649130678934466560

gg game over

Alec Baldwin Criminal Charges To Be Dropped In Fatal ‘Rust’ Shooting

EXCLUSIVE, updated with Baldwin lawyer statement: Less than two weeks before a mini-trial is scheduled to begin in New Mexico over the October 2021 killing of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, …

deadline.com

Alec Baldwin Charges To Be Dropped In ‘Rust’ Fatal Shooting – Deadline

archived 20 Apr 2023 20:11:51 UTC

archive.ph

EXCLUSIVE, updated with Baldwin lawyer statement: Less than two weeks before a mini-trial is scheduled to begin in New Mexico over the October 2021 killing of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, all charges are going to be dropped against Alec Baldwin, for now.

Recently appointed special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis are expected to file paperwork soon, perhaps even today, to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter claims against the multi-Emmy-winning actor without prejudice, we hear. That means, as they are set to investigate further into what actually went down that terrible day on the Bonanza Creek Ranch set near Santa Fe, this case could be resurrected in the future.

“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin, and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Baldwin attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in a statement. Representatives for the Santa Fe’s District Attorney’s office had no comment on the situation when contacted by Deadline on Thursday.

As of now, Baldwin’s co-defendant and ex-Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed still has charges standing against her, we understand — thereby keeping the probe open and retaining subpoena power for prosecutors going forward.

Both Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin had pleaded not guilty. Since an interview on ABC just weeks after the slaying of Hutchins, Baldwin repeatedly has insisted that he did not pull the trigger on the 1880s prop gun that killed the DoP — an insistence the FBI disagreed with in its report on the matter released last year. With Baldwin lawyers last month contesting the state of the gun, further investigation into the firearm looks certain to being undertaken as a part of any renewed probe.

These latest developments are occurring as production on a resurrected Rust was set to start in Montana with Baldwin and director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the October 2021 shooting. Originally scheduled to begin earlier this week, Rust 2.0 now is looking at starting tomorrow, we hear — though that could shift based on these new developments. The timing of the charges being dropped against Baldwin just before the new Rust production commences seems almost uncanny, though we are told it is purely coincidence.

The looming move by the special prosecutors also comes mere days after the filing of the witness list for the May 3-starting preliminary examination became public. Even with charges against Gutierrez-Reed still active, it looks unlikely that the preliminary examination aka mini-trial will go ahead as scheduled, especially with prosecutors digging anew into the evidence, context, and circumstances of the on-set tragedy

More than a year after Halyna Hutchins died on the Rust set, Baldwin and co-defendant Gutierrez-Reed were charged in late January with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Along with a five-year mandatory firearm enhancement that later was cast aside as “unconstitutional,” those charges carried a maximum of 18 months behind bars and around $5,000 in fines if a jury delivered guilty verdicts to Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed. At the time, New Mexico officials made a plea deal with Rust assistant director Dave Halls, who was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation.

In the past weeks, Baldwin had received approval from Judge Mary Marlow Sommer to be absent from the preliminary examination/mini-trial on the involuntary manslaughter claims against him. Still, in a sign of just how fast events were moving this week, the state’s released its 35-person witness list for the mini-trial, where Judge Sommer would determine if there is enough evidence to go to a full trial. Right near the top of that list is Rust director and co-creator Souza. The list also includes Rust script supervisor Mamie Mitchell — who is suing Baldwin and his fellow producers in one of the many suit against them still in LA Superior Court and New Mexico — armorer mentor Seth Kenney, more members of the crew and a ton of cops.

The sudden turn of events now for Rust star and producer Baldwin follows Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies stepping down from the case late last month. and the duo of veteran New Mexico attorneys being put in charge.

While rare, that decision by the besieged D.A. looked almost inevitable over the past few weeks.

Almost from the jump after Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were formally charged, the DA hit several self-created potholes, including a lost February 24 attempt to block Gutierrez-Reed’s request to possess a gun in her home for self-defense. More embarrassingly for the D.A., there was also a drop of the firearm enhancement charge from the on-going case in late February, and the stinging loss of previous special prosecutor and GOP state lawmaker Andrea Reeb in mid-March. Then, almost certain to lose an attempt to be co-counsel on the case with a new special prosecutor, Carmack-Altwies finally removed herself from the case altogether on March 29. At the same time, the DA brought well-respected New Mexico lawyers Morrissey and Lewis on board as special prosecutors.

As the state of New Mexico pondered bringing charges against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed, the Hutchins estate settled its wrongful death suit settled Rust Movie Productions LLC and Baldwin back in October 2022. As part of the deal, the DoP’s husband Matthew Hutchins is executive producing the new Rust production, as well as a documentary on his wife’s life and burgeoning career

“I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin),” said Matthew Hutchins at the time, “All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”

Earlier this week, that settlement was ordered sealed to protect the privacy of the Hutchins’ young son.

 

[The Nothingness]

Now he can get back to pushing for ban guns in light of the recent tragedies.

 

[Antenna7]

gg game over

It's just a bunch of rules, if they are the right people, the rules don't apply.

 

[Terrifik]

Yes we have an update
& it's splitting baby between clown world / reasonable
It's Her Fault
-charge for 6 months or less & up to $500 charge-
Kekek but what about gun safety

Prosecutors accused her of a "sloppy mishandling of firearms."

New Mexico still charging ‘Rust’ armorer in death of Halyna Hutchins after dropping charges against man who pulled the trigger, Alec Baldwin

Prosecutors accused her of a “sloppy mishandling of firearms.”

thepostmillennial.com

https://archive.ph/wip/KmPRE

A court date has been set on August 9 for a New Mexico judge to consider evidence against Rust film armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who faces involuntary manslaughter charges over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Alec Baldwin's low budget movie Rust in Bonanza City, New Mexico on October 21, 2021. On Thursday, those same charges were dropped against the actor.

According to the New York Post, prosecutors with the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office have accused Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for the guns and ammunition on set, with a "sloppy mishandling of firearms."


Gutierrez-Reed pleaded not guilty when the charges were first brought against her on January 31.

On the day of the shooting, a live round was loaded in Baldwin's Colt .45 revolver, a weapon for which the armorer was responsible. After the weapon was loaded, prosecutors allege Gutierrez-Reed exited the church where the scene was being shot.

The hearing, scheduled for August 9 through August 16, will allow prosecutors to bring forward witnesses for cross-examination by the defense, enabling the judge to decide if the trial should move forward.

Rust was Gutierrez-Reed's second movie as an armorer although she is the daughter of Hollywood veteran armorer Thell Reed.

The New York Post reports that police gathered text messages from Reed that indicated she had attempted to use live ammunition on the set of her previous film.

On the Rust set, dummy rounds and live rounds were found together, a violation of safety standards.

The charges against Baldwin were dropped without prejudice, meaning special prosecutors Jason Lewis and Kari Morrissey could reopen the case against the actor.

In October 2022, Baldwin settled with Hutchins' estate, son, and husband Matthew Hutchins, in a wrongful death suit. Another lawsuit filed by Hutchin's parents, Olga Solovey and Anatolii Androsovych, as well as her sister, Svetlana Zemko in February is still pending. Baldwin has asked that it be tossed.