Defence Attorneys for Alec Baldwin Seek Dismissal of Grand Jury Indictment in Fatal Shooting Case

Alec Baldwin's defense team asked a New Mexico court on Thursday to drop the actor's grand jury indictment for the shooting death of a cameraman on the set of the Western film "Rust."

The cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died on October 21, 2021, at a movie ranch outside of Santa Fe. Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the January indictment.

Baldwin has entered a not guilty plea to the accusation. Prosecutors were accused by Baldwin's attorneys in a recent court document of "unfairly stacking the deck" against him during grand jury sessions, deflecting attention from witnesses and exculpatory material.

This made it impossible for the jurors to argue that they had a right to hear testimony from assistant director and safety coordinator Dave Halls, props master Sarah Zachry, and director Joel Souza, who was shot while standing close to Hutchins.

The defense attorney Luke Nikas signed the court motion stating, "The grand jury did not receive the favourable or exculpatory testimony and documents that the state had an obligation to present." "The grand jury was not informed that it had the duty to seek this information and the right to review it."

Additionally, the motion claims that the grand jury was given biased and erroneous testimony regarding the handgun that was used in the deadly shooting.

A jury found "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty of the shooting last week; she is being detained without bond until her sentence hearing in April. A felony conviction for involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum 18-month jail sentence as well as a $5,000 fine.

Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer, was shot and killed by a handgun that Baldwin was pointing at her. Souza was also hurt. Baldwin has insisted that he did not pull the trigger, only the gun's hammer.

During a two-week trial, Gutierrez-Reed was accused by the prosecution of inadvertently carrying live ammunition into the "Rust" set, despite it being specifically forbidden. They alleged she did not adhere to fundamental firearms safety procedures.

In 2018, Halls entered a plea of not guilty to negligent firearm handling and fulfilled a six-month unsupervised probationary period.

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