Fan Fest News

News for Fans, By Fans!

Alec Baldwin’s Criminal Charges: DA Releases Witness List in Deadly Shooting

A plethora of cast and crew from the “Rust” production are being summoned as witnesses for Alec Baldwin‘s trial, including its helmer Joel Souza who was present on set during filming.

On February 24th, Baldwin will be making his initial appearance in court electronically after being charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the demise of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Court documents acquired by Fox News Digital name camera assistant Lane Luper and gaffer Serge Svetnoy as witnesses of the incident on the set of “Rust” – both have previously voiced their concerns about its lack of safety.

Alec Baldwin's Criminal Charges: DA Releases Witness List in Deadly Shooting

Luper resigned from his job on the production of “Rust” prior to the fatal shooting incident.

“What I put in my resignation letter was lax COVID policies, the housing situation driving to and from Albuquerque, and specifically, gun safety, a lack of rehearsals, a lack of preparing the crew for what we were doing that day,” Luper previously said during an appearance on “Good Morning America” in Nov. 2021.

Svetnoy also verified the danger that exists on set.

During a press conference months after the shooting, Svetnoy’s attorney told reporters that the movie’s producers “were cutting too many corners to save money” and that negligence on set led to Hutchins’ death.

Rounding out the list are Jensen Ackles, actor; Mamie Mitchell, script supervisor; Seth Kenney, owner of prop store; Gabrielle Pickle, line producer and Sarah Zachry, prop master.

In addition, a group of investigators from Santa Fe County led by Sheriff Adan Mendoza are listed, alongside FBI analysts and experts.

Alec Baldwin Just Had A Major Setback In Rust Lawsuit

Astoundingly, assistant director David Halls was absent from the witness list. The first assistant director agreed to accept culpability for his actions and plead guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon; now awaiting confirmation by a judge.

Halls allegedly handed Baldwin the gun before the fatal shooting of Hutchins and confirmed it was “cold,” meaning no live ammunition.

On January 31st, according to court documents, the formal charges against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

In the same documents, prosecutors provided a comprehensive overview of their probable cause against Baldwin.

“Baldwin’s deviation from known standards, practice and protocol directly caused the fatal death of Hutchins,” the documents state.

“By not receiving the required training on firearms, not checking the firearm with the armorer, letting the armorer leave the firearms in the church without being present, deviating from the practice of only accepting the firearm from the armorer, not dealing with the safety complaints on set and/or making sure safety meetings were held, putting his finger on the trigger of a real firearm when a replica or rubber gun should have been used, pointing the firearms at Hutchins and Souza, and the overall handling of the firearms in a negligent manner, Baldwin acted with willful disregard for the safety of others and in a manner which endangered other people, specifically Hutchins and Souza.”

Alec Baldwin Says He's Losing Acting Jobs, Now Fears for His Life Since 'Rust' Shooting

 

On October 21, 2021, tragedy struck when a gun held by Baldwin discharged on the set of a church at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico. The incident resulted in the death of Hutchins.

Over the past year, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department has been diligently looking into how live ammunition wound up on set. Gutierrez-Reed and Halls were supposedly two of only a few individuals that managed the firearm.

Before Halls is said to have provided Baldwin with the gun, Gutierrez-Reed spun the cylinder so that Halls could see it contained bullets, her lawyer reported.

In a primetime interview and again in a podcast episode, Baldwin strongly declared that he had not pulled the trigger of the gun. Initially indicating that he had only cocked it back as far as possible then let go, his story remains unaltered ever since.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *