Alec Baldwin and others could be indicted in October over ‘Rust’ recording tragedy

Reuters

American actor Alec Baldwin, 64, is among four people who could face charges in October for the murder of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while filming the 2021 western “Rust,” a New Mexico state prosecutor said.

The final police report on the shooting near the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is expected next month, when prosecutors will file criminal charges if they are justified, prosecutor Mary Carmack-Altwies told the federal finance council. State.

Investigators are focusing on the “many individuals” who handled the pistol that Baldwin fired during a rehearsal, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza, Carmack-Altwies said in a letter to the board.

“One of the possible defendants is well-known film actor Alec Baldwin,” she said in an Aug. 30 letter requesting additional funding to prosecute the high-profile case. Four jury trials with each defendant charged under some variation of state homicide statutes are possible, Carmack-Altwies told the board during a Sept. 20 meeting.

The former public defender said her team is up against “well-paid and experienced defense attorneys” from Los Angeles and New York, and would need to retain a full-time prosecutor, special investigator, media spokesperson and expert witnesses.

The finance council awarded $317,750 to the district attorney’s office in funding during the September 20 meeting, after $635,500 was requested. Baldwin denied responsibility for Hutchins’ death and said live ammunition should never have been allowed on set.

His attorney Luke Nikas warned against assumptions that Baldwin would be charged. “The prosecution has made it clear that it has not received the sheriff’s report or made any decision as to who, if any, can be charged in this case,” the attorney said in a statement on Monday.