Alec Baldwin may face new involuntary manslaughter charge over Rust shooting
Prosecutors are again looking to charge Alec Baldwin over the fatal 'Rust' shooting and will take their case before a grand jury.
Prosecutors are again looking to charge Alec Baldwin over the fatal 'Rust' shooting.
The 65-year-old actor-and-producer was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter after the gun he was holding on the set of the film discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza, but the case was dropped without prejudice in April, and now special prosecutors have announced they will be putting a new case in front of a Sana Fe grand jury.
Special Prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis said in a statement: “After extensive investigation over the past several months, additional facts have come to light that we believe show Mr. Baldwin has criminal culpability in the death of Halyna Hutchins and the shooting of Joel Souza.
“We believe the appropriate course of action is to permit a panel of New Mexico citizens to determine from here whether Mr. Baldwin should be held over for criminal trial.”
Lawyers acting for the 'Boss Baby' actor branded the move "misguided".
His legal team, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, told People magazine: "It is unfortunate that a terrible tragedy has been turned into this misguided prosecution. We will answer any charges in court."
The tragedy occurred in October 2021 and both Alec and armorer Hannah Guiterrez-Reed were charged over the shooting, but the case against the former '30 Rock' star was dropped earlier this year.
Hannah has pleaded not guilty and will stand trial in February.
Back in June, prosecutors warned in a court filing that Alec could still face charges pending examination of the weapon.
They wrote: "The gun and broken sear have been sent to the state’s independent expert for further testing. The charges against Alec Baldwin were dismissed without prejudice because a possible malfunction of the gun significantly effects causation with regard to Baldwin, not with regard to Gutierrez. If it is determined that the gun did not malfunction, charges against Mr. Baldwin will proceed."
The firearms report was released in August and confirmed the trigger of the gun was pulled “sufficiently” enough to cause the accident.
It stated: "Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.
"This fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger."
The report added that the gun had not been modified and "was found to function properly and in accordance with the operational design of original Colt 1873 single-action revolvers".
It went on: "[Although] the full-cock step on the hammer had been severely damaged, the top of the trigger’s sear was broken off and the bolt (cylinder stop) was also broken, [there was no indication] of any modification to the gun."
