Defense attorneys for actor Alec Baldwin have requested a New Mexico judge to dismiss a grand jury indictment against him in connection to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust.”
Baldwin was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter in January, to which he has entered a not-guilty plea. The defense has accused prosecutors of bias, stating the grand jury was denied access to exculpatory evidence and not advised of their right and obligation to request such.
Key witnesses, including director Joel Souza, who suffered injuries in the incident, assistant director Dave Halls, and props master Sarah Zachry, were not allowed to testify. The defense team asserts that this unfairly skewed the grand jury’s perception of events. The defense also claims the grand jury received misleading testimony about the revolver in question.
Meanwhile, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the “Rust” set, was recently convicted and awaits sentencing in April. Gutierrez-Reed was found responsible for bringing live ammunition on the set against established rules and is also alleged to have ignored an array of gun safety protocols.
Co-worker Dave Halls was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation after pleading no contest to negligent handling of a firearm.
Baldwin, who was holding the weapon when the fatal incident occurred, insists he had cocked the gun’s hammer but had not pulled the trigger. The trial is set for July.
.jpg){kind=link}
