- New Mexico prosecutors dropped a gun enhancement charge filed against Alec Baldwin in the “Rust” shooting.
- This marks a major legal win for Baldwin as it dramatically lessens potential prison time he faces.
- Baldwin has been charged in connection with the fatal on-set shooting of Halyna Hutchins.
Alec Baldwin has scored a major legal win after New Mexico prosecutors dropped a gun enhancement charge filed against him in connection to the accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the film set of “Rust,” dramatically lessening potential prison time for the actor.
Baldwin was charged earlier this month with two counts of involuntary manslaughter — one of which carried a firearm enhancement — in connection to the October 2021 fatal shooting of 42-year-old Hutchins.
Both involuntary manslaughter charges carry a punishment of up to 18 months behind bars, but the gun enhancement tacked on a mandatory additional sentence of five years, meaning Baldwin would have faced a maximum sentence of 6.5 years in prison.
Due to the removal of the firearm enhancement, Baldwin now faces a maximum of 18 months behind bars. Court papers with the amended charges were filed on Friday.
New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies dropped the firearm enhancement after Baldwin’s attorneys argued in a motion that prosecutors made an “unconstitutional and elementary legal error” because the statute did not exist at the time of the shooting.
“In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the ‘Rust’ film set,” Heather Brewer, a spokesperson for the DA’s office told Insider on Monday.
Brewer added, “The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys.”
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer in charge of weapons on the Santa Fe, New Mexico, “Rust” set, was hit with the same charges as Baldwin. The firearm enhancement was also dropped for Gutierrez-Reed, Brewer told Insider.
Baldwin, who is producing and starring in “Rust,” fatally shot Hutchins during a rehearsal inside a church building on the Bonanza Creek Ranch movie set on October 21, 2021.
The shooting happened as Baldwin was practicing a cross-draw technique that involved him pointing a Colt .45 revolver at a camera on the film set, according to affidavits previously released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
A bullet from the gun struck Hutchins, a married mother of one, mortally wounding her. The movie’s director, Joel Souza, was also injured by the bullet.
Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas, previously told Insider that the DA’s decision to bring charges against the actor “distorts Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice.”
The lawyer vowed, “We will fight these charges, and we will win.”
