Alec Baldwin will not be called to testify against the armorer accused in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the Rust film set.
The prosecution filed its 13th amended witness list last week, which does not include Baldwin, Fox News reported.
The actor has notably been left off all 13 lists despite other crew members, including assistant director Dave Halls and director Joel Souza, being expected to take the stand during Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s trial next year.
Gutierrez-Reed faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering stemming from the fatal shooting of Hutchins during a rehearsal on the movie set on October 21, 2021.
Baldwin was holding the gun at the time of the accident shooting. He was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter, but the state dropped the charges after ‘new facts’ had been revealed and required further investigation.
Alec Baldwin will not be called to testify against the armorer accused in the fatal shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the Rust film set, it has emerged. Baldwin (pictured on the Rust set) was not included on the prosecution’s amended witness list filed on December 14
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed (pictured) faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering stemming from the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the movie set on October 21, 2021
Baldwin was holding the gun at the time of the accident shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (pictured). He was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter, but the state dropped the charges after ‘new facts’ had been revealed and required further investigation
Gutierrez-Reed will go to trial over the fatal shooting of Hutchins early next year. The trial is scheduled to run from February 21 through March 6 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The first day begins with jury selection.
She has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering.
An attorney for Gutierrez-Reed has previously described the fatal shooting as a tragic accident and says the film’s armorer committed no crime. Gutierrez-Reed is currently the sole criminal defendant.
Prosecutors are understood to be weighing whether to refile a charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun fired at Hutchins.
Special prosecutors dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned.
Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer – but not the trigger – and the gun fired, fatally wounding Hutchins and injuring Souza.
A final picture of Hutchins filming with Baldwin in the chapel where she was shot
Baldwin is pictured on the phone in the parking lot outside the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office shortly after the fatal shooting
In March, Rust assistant director and safety coordinator David Halls pleaded no contest to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm and received a suspended sentence of six months of probation. He agreed to cooperate in the investigation of the shooting.
Defense attorneys said they plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed asked Halls to call her back into rehearsal if Baldwin planned to use the gun. They say that didn’t happen before Hutchins was shot.
As part of their preparation for trial, special prosecutors have also issued subpoenas for documents from producers of Rust and any audio and video recordings held by a Los Angeles film production company that might include Baldwin on the set or his comments about the film elsewhere.
Legal experts have said prosecutors could repurpose documents or records uncovered in case against Gutierrez-Reed if a grand jury were to indict Baldwin.
Prosecutors have said they will present evidence to a grand jury against Baldwin in the fatal set shooting, but it’s unclear when that might happen. It’s a secretive process without public access, as prosecutors present evidence and witnesses possibly testify without a cross-examination or immediate vetting by defense counsel.
Baldwin fired the prop gun (pictured) that killed Hutchins and injured another crew member on the set
The filming of Rust resumed this year in Montana, under an agreement with the cinematographer’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, that made him an executive producer.
Meanwhile, Gutierrez-Reed waived her arraignment in a separate case and pleaded not guilty to a charge of carrying a gun into a Santa Fe bar.
She had been set to appear in court earlier this month on the charge, but a state courts spokesperson said on December 1 that her attorneys opted instead to waive her appearance.
The firearm charge against Gutierrez-Reed stems from an incident days before she was hired to work as the armorer on Rust. According to court records, a witness told authorities that she was carrying a gun when she walked into a bar in downtown Santa Fe.