Charges filed against Alec Baldwin for 'Rust' firing 'accident'; could face 5 yr

Alec Baldwin and the armourer on the set of Rust will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021 reports VarietyBaldwin fired the shot that killed Hutchins while preparing to film a scene in the church building of the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe New Mexico USA The armourer Hannah Gutierrez Reed loaded the weaponAlso ReadAlec Baldwin files lawsuit for Rust shooting holds crew responsible for mishapMary CarmackAltwies the First Judicial District Attorney in Santa Fe announced the charges in a statement on ThursdayBaldwin and Gutierrez Reed each face two counts of involuntary manslaughter which each carry a maximum sentence of 18 months in jail They also will be charged with an enhancement for the use of a firearm which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five yearsThe prosecutor also announced that David Halls the films first assistant director has agreed to plead guilty to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon Halls handed the loaded Colt 45 to Baldwin Under the plea agreement Halls will be given six months of probation but will not serve jail timeIf any one of these three people Alec Baldwin Hannah Gutierrez Reed or David Halls had done their job Halyna Hutchins would be alive today Andrea Reeb the special prosecutor appointed by CarmackAltwies to oversee the case said in a statement reported by VarietyAlso ReadAlec Baldwin Halyna Hutchins was a friend we were a welloiled crewIts that simple The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the Rust film set the prosecutor addedBaldwin according to Variety has repeatedly argued that he is not to blame for the incident His attorneys have alleged that Halls Gutierrez Reed and two others were at fault for a chain of missteps that led to the shootingLuke Nikas Baldwins attorney said in a statement on Thursday that the decision distorts Halyna Hutchins tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justiceMr Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun or anywhere on the movie set Nikas said He relied on the professionals with whom he worked who assured him the gun did not have live rounds We will fight these charges and we will winBaldwin has told interviewers that he did not pull the trigger and that the gun went off when he let go of the hammer An FBI forensic analysis however determined that the gun was functioning normallyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever