Actor Alec Baldwin has entered a plea of not guilty to a reinstated charge of involuntary manslaughter related to the 2021 tragic shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” in New Mexico.
In court documents filed in Sante Fe County on
Wednesday, the 65-year-old Baldwin opted to forgo an arraignment initially scheduled for Thursday, affirming his not guilty plea to the charge, recently filed by New Mexico special prosecutors.
The incident occurred on October 21, 2021, during a film rehearsal outside Santa Fe, where the 42-year-old Hutchins lost her life after being struck by a live round discharged from a prop gun held by Baldwin.
The film’s director, Joel Souza, also sustained injuries.
Baldwin has consistently maintained that he did not pull the gun’s trigger.
Nevertheless, a forensics report released by prosecutors in August of the previous year indicated that it was likely the trigger had been pulled.
Baldwin and Armorer Charged in ‘Rust’ Shooting
Alec Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, faced involuntary manslaughter charges in January 2023 in connection with the shooting incident.
Approximately four months later, special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis announced the decision to drop the involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin due to the emergence of “new facts” requiring further analysis.
Subsequently, a grand jury indicted Baldwin, who serves as a producer on the film, on a count of involuntary manslaughter on January 19 of the current year.
The indictment was based on additional testimony from seven witnesses presented to a New Mexico grand jury.
Under a conditional release order signed by the judge on Wednesday, Baldwin is prohibited from consuming alcohol and leaving the US without written court permission.
Additionally, he is only permitted to have contact with potential witnesses for “business matters” related to the “Rust” movie.
The initial involuntary manslaughter charges against Gutierrez-Reed were not dropped. In June of the previous year, prosecutors also introduced an additional count of felony fourth-degree tampering with evidence against her.
Gutierrez-Reed is anticipated to go to trial next month.
According to a previously filed probable cause statement, prosecutors alleged that on the afternoon of the shooting, Gutierrez-Reed retrieved the gun from the prop truck and handed it to “Rust” assistant director David Halls without conducting a necessary safety check.
Prosecutors further asserted that Halls did not request the safety check, involving Gutierrez-Reed demonstrating each dummy round in the gun, before passing the weapon to Baldwin.
