On April 20, 2023, criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin were dropped. Previously, Baldwin had been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the shooting death of 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Also charged was the weapons handler on the Rust set, Hannah Gutierrez Reed.
Now, as the case against Reed continues, prosecutors are alleging that in the evenings, during filming, Reed often drank and smoked marijuana. Prosecutors claim that Reed “was likely hungover when she loaded a live bullet into the revolver that the actor used.”
Prosecutors continued, also accusing Reed of “having a history of reckless conduct,” adding that “and argued that “it would be in the public interest for her to ‘finally be held accountable.'”
According to the Associated Press, these new allegations come after Hannah Gutierrez Reed’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the charges against her. In a statement by Reed’s attorney, Jason Bowles, he said, “The case is so weak that they now have chosen to resort to character assassination claims about Hannah. The prosecution has abandoned the idea of doing justice and getting to the actual truth, apparently.”
A preliminary hearing for this case is scheduled for August, where a judge will likely determine if there is enough probable cause to move forward with the involuntary manslaughter charge against Reed.
RELATED: Alec Baldwin Enters Plea After Being Officially Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter
As Mamas Uncut previously reported, the film’s assistant director David Halls has already pleaded guilty to charges of negligent use of a deadly weapon, The Wall Street Journal reports. Halls was the person who handed Baldwin the gun on the set and deemed it “cold.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, in New Mexico, where the shooting took place, involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.
As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Hutchins, the director, Joel Souza, and Baldwin were marking a scene and going over the way Alec would remove the gun from his holster when the gun somehow discharged. The bullet struck Hutchins in the chest, killing her and injuring Souza.
In his past interviews, Baldwin has been adamant that he never pulled the trigger when removing the firearm from his holster but did say he pulled back the hammer of the gun and released it. “I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them, never,” Baldwin told ABC News in December 2021. “Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”
However, following an investigation by the FBI, its findings found that the gun was “intact and functional,” and “could not be made to fire without a pull of the trigger” unless the hammer of the revolver was “decocked on a loaded chamber.”
It was initially believed that the gun was “cold,” an industry term used to indicate that a gun does not have any live rounds in it.
A joint statement was shared by Baldwin’s lawyers Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro after the charges against him were dropped. The attorneys said they were “pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident.”
After settling the wrongful death lawsuit with Hutchins’ family, it was reported that the movie will continue filming. The shoot for Rust was obviously put on hold while these matters at hand were sorted out.
CNN further reports that Huchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, will become an executive producer of the movie and will receive a portion of the profits the movie with potentially bring in. “We have reached a settlement, subject to court approval, for our wrongful death case against the producers of Rust, including Alec Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions, LLC. As part of that settlement, our case will be dismissed,” Matthew Hutchins said in his statement obtained by CNN.
“The filming of Rust, which I will now executive produce, will resume with all the original principal players on board in January 2023. I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin). All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”
Baldwin has yet to issue a statement regarding the criminal charges against him being dropped. Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria, lightly touched on the topic of the charges several weeks ago while addressing paparazzi, telling them that “it’s really awful, what you guys are doing.”
“I’m going to tell you what I’m going to say, you’re not going to ask me questions. I want you guys to realize that we have seven kids and you being here to escort them to school and to be there when they come home is not good. So on a human level, you guys know I’m not going to say anything to you. You know that. So please leave my family in peace and let this all play out.”
Hilaria concluded by saying, “[The kids] ask me, ‘Mommy, what are these people doing? And it’s a very hard thing as a mom to try to explain. So please, go home — because I’m not going to say anything and Alec is not going to say anything.”