SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors have formally dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film “Rust, ” citing new evidence and the need for more time to investigate.
A photo released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office shows Alec Baldwin on the “Rust” movie set. The investigation at the Bonanza Creek Ranch movie set is ongoing.
In a stunning turnaround for the 65-year-old A-list actor, special prosecutors Kari Morrisey and Jason Lewis filed the notice to dismiss the only charge against Baldwin on Friday in state District Court in Santa Fe. Prosecutors say the investigation is ongoing.
An involuntary manslaughter charge against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the film, is unchanged.
An online status hearing was scheduled for Friday afternoon in state District Court in the case against Gutierrez-Reed. Baldwin’s involvement in the hearing was called off with no charge pending against him.
Friday’s court filing echoed early statements from prosecutors that new facts had been revealed in the investigation that demand further investigation and forensic analysis, with little time left before evidentiary hearings scheduled to start on May 3.
On Thursday, the special prosecutors said that the “decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled.” They have declined further comment.
Los Angeles-based entertainment litigator and defense attorney Kate Mangels, who is not involved in the “Rust” case, said opportunities for further charges against Baldwin are narrowing.
“If they don’t have the evidence now, I don’t see what evidence they could obtain or that could develop. … It looks like they already had 30 people on a witness list, a cooperative (codefendant) witness, investigations done by various law enforcement agencies. It seems like this has already been pretty well investigated. I can’t imagine what would arise to bring new charges.”
Lawyers for Baldwin were first to announce that prosecutors were changing course, in a sharp turnaround for the Hollywood luminary who just a few months ago was confronting the possibility of a yearslong prison sentence.
Baldwin was pointing a pistol at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has said the gun fired accidentally and he did not pull the trigger. An FBI forensic report found the weapon could not have fired unless the trigger was pulled, however.
In March, “Rust” safety coordinator and assistant director David Halls pleaded no contest to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm and a suspended sentence of six months of probation. He agreed to cooperate in further inquiries into the fatal shooting.
A defense attorney for Halls said Friday that he is happy for Baldwin and also wishes the best for the Hutchins family.
“Mr. Halls never believed Mr. Baldwin should be charged with a crime. It was a tragic accident that is best resolved out of criminal court,” defense attorney Lisa Torraco said in an email.
When the manslaughter charges were announced in January, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said the case was about equal justice under the law and accountability in Hutchins’ death, regardless of the fame or fortune of those involved. She said the Ukrainian-born cinematographer’s death was tragic — and preventable.
A new legal team took over prosecution of Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed in late March, after the original special prosecutor appointed in the case resigned.
The dismissal of the charge against Baldwin, also a coproducer on “Rust,” abruptly changes the tenor of the investigation, said John Day, a Santa Fe-based criminal defense attorney who is not involved with the case.
“It does give the impression that the people left holding the bag are the lowest people on that chain,” Day said.
When word of the dismissal came, Baldwin was at Yellowstone Film Ranch on the set of a rebooted “Rust” production, a representative for Rust Movie Productions said. Preparations for filming were underway at the film’s new location in Montana, 18 months after the shooting shut it down.
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys said they fully expect her to be exonerated in the judicial process.
“The truth about what happened will come out and the questions that we have long sought answers for will be answered,” the lawyers, Jason Bowles and Todd Bullion, said in a statement.
FILE – This aerial photo shows part of the Bonanza Creek Ranch film-set in Santa Fe, N.M., on Oct. 23, 2021. New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator has determined that the fatal film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor and producer Alec Baldwin last year was an accident. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Before Friday’s dismissal, the case against Baldwin had already been diminishing. In February, a weapons enhancement to the manslaughter charge was dropped, reducing the maximum prison sentence from five years to 18 months.
Baldwin’s 40-year career has included the early blockbuster “The Hunt for Red October” and a starring role in the sitcom “30 Rock,” as well as iconic appearances in Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” and a film adaptation of David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross.” In recent years he was known for his impression of former President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live.”
Baldwin has worked little as an actor since the shooting, but hardly went into hiding. He stayed active on social media, making Instagram videos, posting podcast interviews and pictures of his wife and seven children.
Plans to resume filming were outlined last year by the cinematographer’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, in a proposed settlement to a wrongful death lawsuit that would make him an executive producer. Souza has said he will return to directing “Rust” to honor the legacy of Halyna Hutchins.
After a scathing safety review by regulators in New Mexico that detailed ignored complaints and misfires before Hutchins’ death in October 2021, the production company agreed to pay a $100,000 fine.
