Baldwin manslaughter charges formally dropped
A New Mexico court filing stated the case against actor Alec Baldwin are dismissed but investigations will go on into the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin always insisted that he was told the gun was safe and didn't pull the trigger.
Manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin over a fatal shooting on a movie set have been formally dropped by prosecutors.
A New Mexico court filing said on Friday the case against Baldwin "is dismissed without prejudice," but investigations remain "active and on-going" into the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the Western "Rust" in New Mexico in 2021.
Baldwin was holding a Colt .45 handgun during rehearsals when it discharged, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
He has always insisted he was told the gun was safe and that he did not pull the trigger, and had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court filing said "new facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis which cannot be completed" in time for a preliminary hearing that was scheduled for May.
A Los Angeles Times report said prosecutors had received information that the gun had been modified in a manner increasing the odds it might have misfired, citing three anonymous sources.
The criminal case against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the young armorer who had been responsible for weapons on the set of the film, remains ongoing, with a court status conference scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Filming of "Rust" resumed at a new location in Montana this week, with Baldwin and Souza among those returning to complete the film.
Charge opportunities narrowing
The criminal case against Baldwin had hit multiple legal potholes in the past few months.
Los Angeles-based entertainment litigator and defense attorney Kate Mangels, who is not involved in the “Rust” case, said opportunities for further charges against Baldwin are narrowing.
“If they don’t have the evidence now, I don’t see what evidence they could obtain or that could develop. … It looks like they already had 30 people on a witness list, a cooperative [codefendant] witness, investigations done by various law enforcement agencies. It seems like this has already been pretty well investigated. I can’t imagine what would arise to bring new charges.”
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were each initially charged with two alternative counts of voluntary manslaughter.
But a so-called "firearm enhancement" which would have increased the jail term if they were convicted, was dropped soon afterwards, due to an alleged technical error by prosecutors.
Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and the case's previous special prosecutor Andrea Reeb both stepped aside from overseeing the case against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed.
In a statement on Thursday, the new special prosecutors noted that the decision to drop charges "does not absolve Mr Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled."
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