Alec Baldwin will be charged in connection with the shooting murder of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in October 2021.

Thursday morning, the First Judicial District Attorney of New Mexico, Mary Carmack-Altwies, and the Special Prosecutor, Andrea Reeb, issued a statement announcing their decision.

Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will both be charged with involuntary manslaughter. David Halls, the assistant director, has consented to plead guilty to careless use of a dangerous weapon.

“If any one of these three people — Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez Reed or David Halls — had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today. It’s that simple,” Reeb said in a statement. “The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set. In New Mexico, there is no room for film sets that don’t take our state’s commitment to gun safety and public safety seriously.”

Each of Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will face two involuntary manslaughter counts.

“The first charge can be referred to simply as involuntary manslaughter,” Carmack-Altwies stated in a statement. “For this charge to be proved there must be underlying negligence. Under New Mexico law, involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony and is punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine. This charge also includes the misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a firearm, which would likely merge as a matter of law.

“The other charge is involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act. This charge requires proof that there was more than simple negligence involved in a death. This is also a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine.

“This charge includes a firearm enhancement, or added mandatory penalty because a firearm was involved. The firearm enhancement makes the crime punishable by a mandatory five years in jail.”

Hutchins was murdered and director Joel Souza was injured when a gun held by Baldwin discharged near Santa Fe, New Mexico, on October 21, 2021, during the production of a Western.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office officers suspect Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of all guns on the set, loaded the revolver from a box containing both live and blank ammunition. Halls subsequently stated that the weapon was “cold” before handing Baldwin the.45 caliber revolver used in the incident.

Last year, state regulators in New Mexico penalized the film’s makers for improper handling of guns on production.

More on this story via The Western Journal:

Baldwin has denied that he ever pulled the trigger.

“Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property. Someone is ​responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me,” he told ABC News. CONTINUE READING…