Baldwin indicted again on manslaughter charge
The on-again, off-again criminal prosecution of Alec Baldwin is on again.
A Santa Fe grand jury has indicted the actor and producer on a count of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the October 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Hutchins died after being struck by a bullet that came from a gun held by Baldwin during a rehearsal for the film Rust at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe. Baldwin is the film’s star and producer. The same bullet wounded director Joel Souza, striking him in the shoulder after it exited her body.
The fourth-degree felony charge carries a basic sentence of 18 months. Baldwin is charged under two theories: involuntary manslaughter by negligent use of a firearm or involuntary manslaughter “without due caution or circumspection,” according to the indictment filed Friday in state District Court in Santa Fe.
This is the second time Baldwin has been criminally charged in connection with the incident. The same charges — filed against him in January 2023 by District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies — were dismissed in April by special prosecutors Kari T. Morrissey and Jason Lewis, citing a need for further investigation.
Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, said in an email Friday, “We look forward to our day in court.”
By most accounts, Hutchins’ death was caused by the mistaken commingling of live rounds and dummy ammunition on the set, which the prosecution characterized early in the case as reckless negligence that justified criminal charges against assistant director David Halls, Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
Halls pleaded no contest in March to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon as part of a deal that called for him to serve six months of probation. Gutierrez-Reed is scheduled to go to trial next month.
The state dismissed the original involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April “without prejudice,” meaning it could be refiled.
The on-again, off-again nature of the criminal case against Baldwin seems to be connected in part to shifting theories about the condition of the gun Baldwin
was holding in the scene — described by a forensics examiner as a Italian-made “facsimile” of a Colt 1873 single-action revolver — and whether he pulled the gun’s trigger prior to it discharging a live round.
Baldwin has said he didn’t pull the trigger. The matter has been further complicated by reports the gun was damaged during testing.
A source close to the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The New Mexican in April the dismissal was related to “new evidence” that centered on the revolver. The weapon had at some point been fitted with a new hammer, calling into question whether it could have fired without the trigger being pulled, the source said.
In a June motion filed in the case against Gutierrez-Reed, prosecutors wrote charges against Baldwin had been dismissed without prejudice “because a possible malfunction of the gun significantly affects causation with regard to Baldwin. ... If it is determined that the gun did not malfunction, charges against Mr. Baldwin will proceed.”
The state wrote then that special prosecutors anticipated making a “final charging decision” with regard to Baldwin “within the next 60 days.” But that timeframe elapsed without Baldwin being charged. In October, the special prosecutors announced additional facts had come to light that the state believed showed Baldwin could have “criminal culpability” in Hutchins’ death and Souza’s wounding and said they intended to present the evidence to a grand jury “within the next two months.”
Morrissey and Lewis did not respond to a call seeking information Friday about whether Baldwin will be arrested or booked on the charge, or be arraigned and released with conditions to await trial.
The First Judicial District Attorney’s Office requested $635,000 from the state Board of Finance in August 2022, saying in an emergency funding request it anticipated charging four people in connection with the shooting and needed the money to fund their prosecution.
“Experts in firearms, the handling of firearms on movie sets and safety protocols on movie sets, must be retained immediately,” Carmack-Altwies wrote in the request, adding that if she had to fund the prosecution out of her office’s general fund, there would not be enough money to pay her employees, hire expert witnesses in other cases and cover everyday expenses.
The state Board of Finance awarded the District Attorney’s office $317,000, about half the money requested. Legislators later authorized her office to spend another $360,000 pursuing the cases, according to District Attorney’s Office spokesman Nathan Lederman.
Lederman wrote in an email Friday about $164,925 of the $317,000 had been spent, and about $152,824 had been “returned/reverted” to the state.