A judge on Friday denied Alec Baldwin’s motion to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge against him stemming from the shooting death of a cinematographer on a New Mexico set.
Baldwin’s lawyers in March filed a motion to dismiss the grand jury indictment. They accused prosecutors of engaging in misconduct and said they “publicly dragged Baldwin through the cesspool created by their improprieties – without any regard for the fact that serious criminal charges have been hanging over his head for two and a half years.”
In her ruling in New Mexico on Friday, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer rejected each of Baldwin’s lawyers’ arguments for dismissal, finding that the grand jury process was not prejudiced against the actor.
He was indicted by a grand jury on Jan. 19. His trial is scheduled to begin July 10.
It was the second time he was charged in the 2021 shooting death of Halyna Hutchins. He had been similarly charged in January 2023 and pleaded not guilty, but three months later prosecutors dropped the charges, citing “new facts” that left them unable to immediately proceed with the case.
Those charges were dropped as Baldwin’s attorneys questioned whether the prop gun that Baldwin was holding on the set of the movie “Rust” during a rehearsal was functioning properly when it fired a live round that killed Hutchins and wounded film director Joel Souza.
“We look forward to our day in court,” Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said in a statement following the indictment.
Baldwin has maintained he did not pull the trigger on the gun, and had been told it was “cold” – meaning, it did not contain live ammunition.
According to reports, special prosecutors had further tests conducted on the weapon after charges were dropped last year and concluded there was evidence to proceed with the case.
Baldwin had originally been charged along with the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, with involuntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act stemming from the Oct. 21, 2021 shooting of Hutchins, 42, with the prop gun wielded by Baldwin.
Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, has insisted that while he pulled back the hammer on the weapon, he never pulled the trigger.
Gutierrez-Reed, who also pleaded not guilty, is serving an 18-month prison sentence after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March. Prosecutors argued that she was sloppy and unprofessional, and that she failed to make sure that no live rounds made their way to set.
“Rust” assistant director David Halls pleaded no contest earlier to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon in exchange for a suspended sentence and six months probation.
Filming on “Rust,” suspended after the shooting, but has since resumed, with Hutchins’ husband serving as a producer under the terms of a legal settlement.
Hutchins’ parents, Olga Solovey and Anatolii Androsovych, and the film’s script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, also have filed a civil lawsuit in the case.
– City News Service