Alec Baldwin stands accused of the involuntary manslaughter of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (top right) on the set of “Rust” (bottom right).
Actor Alec Baldwin will not have to attend his preliminary hearing in New Mexico in June for involuntary manslaughter charges related to the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust.”
Court documents filed on Monday show a waiver of appearance granted by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer.
On Jan. 19, 2023, Baldwin and “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged with involuntary manslaughter for their alleged role in the tragic shooting on Oct. 21, 2021. Both deny any criminal liability for the events, but prosecutors claim that, if not for them, Hutchins will still be alive.
Baldwin said he thought the gun wasn’t loaded and denied pulling the trigger. Prosecutors say that FBI testing confirmed that the weapon couldn’t have fired if Baldwin didn’t deploy it. Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed now face involuntary manslaughter charges.
As the case prepares for trial, the two of them both achieved a significant victory, after prosecutors dropped a sentencing enhancement that raised the possibility of five years of imprisonment over their heads. Baldwin successfully argued that the enhancement was unconstitutional, as it cited a law revised well after the late 2021 shooting.
After Reed joined Baldwin’s motion, prosecutors voluntarily withdrew the enhancement, claiming that doing so would “avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys.” Baldwin’s attorneys skewered those public swipes as an extraordinary reaction to their “meritorious motion.”
Former “Rust” assistant director David Halls received a suspended jail sentence after pleading no contest to a lesser charge last month and may testify against the actor.
Following his plea for unsafe handling of a deadly weapon, Halls received a 6-month sentence, which Judge Mary Marlowe Summer immediately suspended for a sentence of “unsupervised probation.”
This is a developing story.
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Alec Baldwin skipping ‘Rust’ preliminary hearing