Alec Baldwin was offered a plea deal last year that would have seen him serve no jail time in connection with the manslaughter of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Variety reported that before the 65-year-old could decide whether to accept the terms, prosecutors pulled the offer and said they would be indicting him.
In a filing seen by the outlet, prosecutor Kary Morrissey offered ‘a plea deal identical to the petty misdemeanor deal accepted by Dave Halls.
The filing states that the offer was made on October 5 and Baldwin was given until October 27 to decide, but prosecutors rescinded the offer on October 17.
Halls, the first assistant director on Rust, did not serve prison time after pleading to a count of negligent handling of a deadly weapon.
Variety reported that before the 65-year-old could decide whether to accept the terms, prosecutors pulled the offer and said they would be indicting him
Baldwin will go on trial later this year for manslaughter in connection with the death of Halyna Hutchins, seen here in 2019
He was given six months of unsupervised probation, a $500 fine, 24 hours of community service and ordered to take a firearm safety class.
Baldwin’s lawyers have accused the prosecutors in the case of a list of abuses and are looking to have case dismissed.
Variety reported that his lawyers claim that Morrissey repeatedly leaked confidential information about the grand jury proceedings to an NBC reporter.
In November, lawyers representing the actor filed a motion for sanctions over that issue, and asked to have Morrisey and her co-counsel removed from the case.
They also sought to have monetary penalties imposed against Morrissey over her alleged misconduct.
At a hearing on November 15, the judge overseeing the case admonished the parties not to disclose anything about the grand jury proceedings.
The judge also postponed the grand jury proceeding from November to January to allow more time to review material the defense wanted to present.
Attorney’s for Baldwin allege that within an hour of the hearing, Morrissey then called the NBC reporter to relay the scheduling update
The shooting happened in October 2021 after two weeks of filming while Baldwin was practicing drawing out his gun from the holster
Halls, seen here, was the first assistant director on Rust and did not serve prison time after pleading to a count of negligent handling of a deadly weapon
Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and also faced a charge of tampering with evidence
In this image taken from video released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, Alec Baldwin speaks with investigators following the fatal shooting
NBC reported that same day that the grand jury proceeding had been postponed, citing an ‘unnamed source’.
The reporter then allegedly contacted lawyers for Baldwin seeking comment hours after the judge made the ruling.
In a filing earlier this week, Baldwin and his attorney Alex Spiro also claimed that the prosecutors rigged the jury process in the case.
They are arguing that the grand jury process was rigged by the Santa Fe County D.A.’s office, alleging that they add 7 witnesses who were biased.
The filing reportedly adds that three of the witnesses were on the DA’s payroll, two of them were from Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office and one was suing him in a civil case.
It is also alleged that the FBI tested the pistol used in the fatal scene that killed Hutchins, and that the DA failed to present all the evidence from the testing.
The documents allege that the testing showed that the revolver did fire without the trigger being pulled when fully loaded, just as they were on the day of the tragedy.
During the trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed earlier this year, agent Bryce Ziegler said he had to break the gun with a mallet to get it to fire without using the trigger.
Ziegler, appearing for the prosecution, said that couldn’t have happened on the set of Rust because the gun was in working order when it came to him.
His analysis contradicts claims by Baldwin that he only pulled back the hammer on the vintage-looking pistol.
In 2022 Baldwin settled a civil lawsuit filed against him by Matthew Hutchins, the widow of Hutchins, seen here, and the father of their son
This aerial photo shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Oct. 23, 2021, used for the film ‘Rust’
The jury was shown shocking images of cinematographer’s Halyna Hutchins’ the blood-stained shirt
During the trial of Gutierrez-Reed, prosecutors painted a damning portrait of a film that was in a state of ‘rushed chaos’
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 26, was the armorer for Rust and was was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The verdict spells trouble for Baldwin when he goes on trial in July in the same courthouse for involuntary manslaughter. If found guilty he faces 18 months in jail.
During the trial of Gutierrez-Reed, prosecutors painted a damning portrait of a film that was in a state of ‘rushed chaos.’
The night before the incident, six members of the camera crew quit because of their concerns over safety.
The jury heard that Baldwin commissioned director Souza to write the script, which he owned the rights to. Baldwin was the lead actor on the movie and was also a producer.
Bowles called Gutierrez-Reed, who was just 24 at the time of the incident, a ‘scapegoat’ for wider failings that led the New Mexico safety regulator to issue a $136,000 fine to the producers for ‘willful and serious’ safety failings.
Jurors were shown a video shot during production of Rust in which Baldwin pointed the gun at the crew and cast members including a 12-year-old boy between scenes
Jurors were told Baldwin himself made the set unsafe by waving his gun like a ‘pointing stick’ at people and firing rounds after the director said cut
Alec Baldwin is seen in this still practicing drawing his revolver on the set of the Rust movie
Bowles told the court that Baldwin himself made the set unsafe by waving his gun like a ‘pointing stick’ at people.
In his opening statement, Bowles said that Baldwin ‘violated basic gun safety’ by pointing the gun at Hutchins because he didn’t intend to shoot at her.
He said: ‘The primary thing here was rush, get this thing so we can get the money and that’s all on production and Mr. Baldwin is one of the primary producers. That’s on them. Miss Gutierrez-Reed had no control over that.’
The criminal case is not the only court proceedings resulting from the shooting of Hutchins.
In 2022 Baldwin settled a civil lawsuit filed against him by Matthew Hutchins, the widow of Hutchins, and the father of their son.
Under the terms Rust continued production at a new location in Montana and Matthew Hutchins, who has called his wife’s death a ‘terrible accident,’ is an executive producer. No date has yet been set for the film’s release.