Santa Fe D.A. Announces Criminal Charges Against Alec Baldwin, 'Rust' Armorer

Will actor Alec Baldwin or anyone on the "Rust" crew face criminal charges for the death of Halyna Hutchins? The public finally has an answer.

On October 26, 2021, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, the cinematographer was struck and killed by a bullet that also injured director Joel Souza. That bullet was inside a gun held by "30 Rock" actor Alec Baldwin, although he has denied pulling the trigger.

On Thursday, January 19, the Santa Fe D.A. announced that they will press criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

On Thursday morning, the Santa Fe DA charged both Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

First assistant director Dave Halls has pleaded guilty to the charge of the negligent use of a deadly weapon. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed could face a maximum of eighteen months in prison if convicted.

Andrea Reeb, a special prosecutor appointed to the case, said in a statement, "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 continued. "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."

The police investigation of the shooting, with the help of the FBI, was completed last October, just over one year after the shooting took place.

Prior to the investigation’s completion, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies had sent a letter to the New Mexico Board of Finance requesting $635,000 to prosecute as many as four individuals. Ultimately, she was only granted $317,750.

In the letter, the DA wrote, “one of the possible defendants is well-known movie actor Alec Baldwin.” However, Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas took issue with the letter, insisting “that it would be premature to discuss the case because they had not yet reviewed the file or deliberated about their charging decision.”

“It is irresponsible to report otherwise,” Nikas added. “The DA has made clear that she has not received the sheriff’s report or made any decisions about who, if anyone, might be charged in this case.”

On Thursday, December 2, 2021, ABC News aired an exclusive interview with Baldwin and news anchor George Stephanopoulos. During the interview, the “30 Rock” actor became emotional when he discussed Hutchins’ death on the "Rust" set.

“She was someone who was loved by everyone who worked with [her], and liked by everyone who worked with [her], and admired,” Baldwin said at the time. “I mean, even now… I find it hard to believe that [it happened]. It just doesn’t seem real to me.”

During their hour-long conversation, Stephanopoulos noted, “It wasn’t in the script for the trigger to be pulled.” Baldwin replied, “Well, the trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger.”

Seeking clarification, Stephanopoulos repeated, “So you never pulled the trigger?” Baldwin replied, “No, no, no, no. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger at them, never.” Later on, Stephanopoulos asked how a live bullet ended up on a movie set. Baldwin replied, “I have no idea. Someone put a live bullet in a gun. A bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”

Part of the police investigation into the "Rust' tragedy, which culminated in a 551-page report, included an interview with director Joel Souza. He told law enforcement officials that the first assistant director, Dave Halls, was responsible for gun safety on set. He told police that he recalled Halls saying that it was a “cold gun” before the crew took a break for lunch. A “cold gun” means that the gun did not contain live rounds.

Joel did not know how the gun that Baldwin was holding suddenly contained a live round when they were filming the scene. Ultimately, though, the report states that the scene they were filming did not require the “Beetlejuice” actor to draw his firearm at all.

The report reads: “Joel explained, the shot required Alec to slowly draw the gun and partially take it out of the holster. When asked if the shot required Alec to fully draw the weapon and point it, Joel stated ‘no’ because they didn’t get that far.”

The report also contained text messages between Alec Baldwin and Matthew Hutchins, Halyna's husband. Hutchins had originally filed a wrongful death lawsuit in February that was settled in October. Hutchins was named an executive producer on the film, which was expected to resume filming in California this month.

On December 10, 2021, Alec sent a text message to Matt, writing, “Important for you to keep in mind: The Santa Fe Sheriffs' office may lack both the skill and the will to properly investigate the sabotage angle. I'm told their agenda is to write it off as an accident and throw it to the civil courts."

"And yet, the more information that is presented to me about certain anomalies on that day, the more open-minded I become," Baldwin added. "I dismissed the sabotage claim initially. But not now. I hope these NM have the sense to follow it through.”