Alec Baldwin to Be Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter in Fatal ‘Rust’ Shooting

Prosecutors plan to charge Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the movie “Rust” in New Mexico in 2021, the district attorney in Santa Fe said Thursday.

The film’s armorer overseeing weapons, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, will also be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the incident, according to a statement from Santa Fe-area District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies. The charges are expected to be filed by the end of the month.

The film’s first assistant director, David Halls, has agreed to plead guilty to the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, according to the statement.

The shooting occurred on the set of the low-budget Western outside Santa Fe, N.M., in October 2021. During preparations for a scene, Mr. Baldwin discharged a live round from a revolver, killing 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was wounded.

In New Mexico, involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony that carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.

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Luke Nikas, Mr. Baldwin’s lawyer, said in a statement that Mr. Baldwin had no reason to think there was a live bullet in the gun or anywhere on the film set.

“He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds,” Mr. Nikas said. “We will fight these charges, and we will win.”

Lisa Torraco, a lawyer for Mr. Halls, confirmed that her client reached the plea agreement, which includes a suspended sentence and six months of probation.

“When this incident happened, immediately people started pointing their fingers at Dave Halls. It took all the evidence coming in to show that none of it was true,” she said. “This really exonerates his responsibility. He was the least culpable of the three.”

As an assistant director, Mr. Halls served as safety coordinator on set and handed the gun to Mr. Baldwin at the rehearsal.

Jason Bowles, a lawyer for Ms. Gutierrez-Reed, said she didn’t commit involuntary manslaughter, and the charges are based on “a very flawed investigation and an inaccurate understanding of the full facts.”

Ms. Gutierrez-Reed oversaw weapons on set as the armorer, along with a second role assisting with props on the production.

Actor Alec Baldwin has denied pulling the trigger of the gun on the set of ‘Rust.’ Photo: Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office/Zuma Press

Mr. Baldwin and Ms. Gutierrez-Reed will each be charged with two different counts of involuntary manslaughter, the district attorney’s office said. The second charge, involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, includes a firearms enhancement which carries a mandatory five-year prison term. A jury could only convict on one of the two charges.

“In spite of this being an A-list actor, we’re treating everyone the same,” Ms. Carmack-Altwies, a Democrat elected to her first term in 2020, said in an interview. “We’re charging as we see where the law was violated, and not taking anything else into account.”

Ms. Carmack-Altwies said the investigation hasn’t revealed how live rounds wound up on set, and that the question likely won’t be answered.

“I don’t think it matters to the crux of the matter, which is that they got into a gun, and then the trigger was pulled in that gun while it was pointed at Halyna Hutchins,” she said.

Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor assigned to the case, said: “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.”

Ms. Reeb is a Republican who also serves as a state legislator.

After charges are filed, prosecutors will present their case before a judge, who will then rule whether there is probable cause to move forward.

By presenting essentially two separate paths toward a potential manslaughter conviction, the prosecution would be asking jurors to decide not only innocence or guilt, but which of the two charges should apply.

The first involuntary manslaughter charge requires the state to prove the defendant caused the death of another person through negligence, according to Joshua Kastenberg, a University of New Mexico law professor.

“The charges don’t require the government to prove that Alec Baldwin or anyone else is a bad person or malicious in their conduct,” Mr. Kastenberg said. On the contrary, the law requires the district attorney to prove that “a standard of care that we expect adults of ordinary intelligence to commit to in life wasn’t exercised,” he said.

For the more substantial alternate charge with the firearms enhancement, prosecutors likely intend to argue defendants should have had knowledge the gun was possibly loaded and taken more care, Mr. Kastenberg said.

A photo released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office from its investigation of the fatal shooting on the set of ‘Rust.’ Photo: Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office/Zuma Press

Jennifer Burrill, president-elect of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said the manner in which prosecutors want to charge the case could complicate the proceedings and make securing a conviction on the stiffer charge more of a challenge.

It is possible the alternate charges are a tactical decision on the part of prosecutors eyeing a plea deal, Ms. Burrill said.

A spokeswoman for the D.A. didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Both Mr. Halls and Ms. Gutierrez-Reed handled the gun before it was given to Mr. Baldwin for the rehearsal, in which the actor was practicing pulling out the revolver.

According to affidavits from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, Mr. Halls took one of three prop guns laid out on a rolling cart and handed it to Mr. Baldwin to film the scene. Mr. Halls yelled “cold gun,” indicating the firearm didn’t have live rounds. Mr. Baldwin took the gun and fired it, one of the affidavits said. Investigators have also questioned Ms. Gutierrez-Reed’s actions as the person in charge of guns and ammunition on set.

Mr. Baldwin has repeatedly denied pulling the trigger of the gun, including in a December 2021 interview with ABC News.

Mr. Baldwin has said he pulled back the gun’s hammer and let it go, after which the gun fired.

Brian Panish, a lawyer for Ms. Hutchins’s family, said in a statement that the family supports the district attorney’s decision to bring charges. “It is a comfort to the family that, in New Mexico, no one is above the law,” Mr. Panish said.

In the 15 months since the shooting, authorities have investigated safety measures on the set, including how guns and ammunition were handled by the film’s crew members and its star leading up to the incident. Investigators haven’t said how live ammunition made it onto the set.

The Sheriff’s Office turned over the results of its investigation to prosecutors in October and didn’t make any recommendations about potential charges.

In October, Mr. Baldwin and the “Rust” production team reached a settlement with Ms. Hutchins’s family in a wrongful-death lawsuit, the parties said at the time. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed.

Mr. Baldwin filed a lawsuit against several “Rust” crew members, including Ms. Gutierrez-Reed and Mr. Halls, in November. The lawsuit alleges that the crew members were negligent in their duties to protect the cast and the crew, including giving Mr. Baldwin a loaded gun.

In response, a lawyer for Ms. Gutierrez-Reed said Mr. Baldwin “is the only one responsible for this tragedy.” A lawyer for Mr. Halls didn’t comment at the time.

—Mariah Timms contributed to this article.

Write to Katherine Sayre at [email protected]