[SC Hollywood] Alec Baldwin, ‘Director of photography dies in shooting on set’ Ultimately, indictment… charge of manslaughter

[Sports Chosun Reporter Jeong Bit] Actor Alec Baldwin was eventually indicted on charges of causing the death of a cinematographer due to a gun accident while filming a movie.

According to the Associated Press and the New York Times (NYT) on the 19th (local time), a grand jury in New Mexico issued a complaint indicting Baldwin on this day.

A grand jury of 12 people discussed whether to indict Baldwin in court the day before, and decided to indict after more than eight jurors agreed.

Baldwin was finally indicted about two years and three months after the incident.

Previously, the film ‘Rust’ in Santa Fe, New Mexico in October 2021. On set, while Baldwin was practicing a scene where he would fire a prop gun, a live bullet was fired, and cinematographer Hurlina Hutchins, who was opposite him, was shot in the chest and died.

Baldwin has maintained since the shooting that he was not at fault in the incident. He said that he was handed the prop gun in question after being told that it was a & # 39; cold gun & # 39; (a gun not loaded with live ammunition). Prosecutors initially indicted Baldwin and Hannah Cutierrez Reed, who was the weapon prop manager on set, on charges of manslaughter, but dropped the charges against Baldwin last April. The reason was that sufficient evidence had not been collected. Prosecutors later began further investigation.

Baldwin also claimed that he was told on set at the time of the incident that the gun had no live ammunition and that he did not pull the trigger.

After dropping the indictment against Baldwin, the prosecution investigated for a while the possibility that the gun’s safety device had been arbitrarily modified, saying that traces of the safety device that adjusts the angle of the pistol’s hammer were partially removed or ground off.

However, after further investigation, prosecutors concluded that the gun did not malfunction and submitted related evidence to the grand jury.

According to AP, forensic expert Lucien Haag, who analyzed the gun, said the trigger had to be pulled or pressed sufficiently for the bullet to be fired, weighing on the possibility that Baldwin pulled the trigger himself.

If you are convicted of manslaughter in New Mexico, you could face up to 18 months in prison.

“We will make our case in court,” Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said in a statement.

The NYT reported in court documents that Baldwin had difficulty finding acting work after the incident and there were signs he could face financial pressure.

According to reports, he recently put his 10,000-square-foot (about 929 m2) home in the Hamptons, Long Island, New York, up for sale for $19 million (about 25.4 billion won).

The family of the deceased cinematographer Hutchins filed a civil suit against Baldwin last year, which has been put on hold pending the conclusion of the criminal case. Movie ‘Rust’ Filming resumed in April last year and was completed in about a month.

Reporter Jeong Bit rightlight@sportschosun.com