Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ accusation charges dropped

• Los Angeles, California: Officials said Monday that prosecutors who charged Alec Baldwin.
• The weapon was only supposed to have blank bullets in it.
• Baldwin, along with the film’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has been charged with manslaughter in the southwest.

Los Angeles, California: Officials said Monday that prosecutors who charged Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a fatal shooting on a movie set dropped a so-called “firearm enhancement” that carried a potential five-year sentence. During rehearsals for the low-budget Western “Rust” in October 2021, the US actor was holding a Colt.45 when it discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring the film’s director, Joel Souza.

The weapon was only supposed to have blank bullets in it. Baldwin, along with the film’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, has been charged with manslaughter in the southwest state of New Mexico and faces an 18-month prison sentence.

The charge enhancement was dropped, according to the prosecutor’s spokesperson, to “avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys.”

“The prosecution’s priority is to secure justice, not billable hours for big-city lawyers,” the statement continued. The decision came just days after Baldwin’s team accused prosecutors of making a “unconstitutional and elementary error,” noting that the firearm enhancement law was not on the books in New Mexico at the time of the incident.

According to the lawyers’ filing, there will be a firearm enhancement law in October 2021, but it will require the weapon to be “brandished” – displayed in a deliberately intimidating manner. Both defendants are scheduled to appear in court on February 24, but neither is expected to appear in person.

Assistant director Dave Halls, who handed Baldwin the weapon and told him it was “cold” — industry speak for safe — has agreed to plead guilty to negligent use of weapon  Baldwin is also facing civil proceedings from Hutchins’ parents and sister, who all reside in Ukraine.

A lawsuit was filed on their behalf earlier this month in Los Angeles, seeking unspecified damages from the “30 Rock” star and others involved in the film. Baldwin, 64, and other producers of “Rust” have already reached a financial settlement with Hutchins´ widower Matthew.

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