“Baldwin has unlimited resources. He will present a really strong defense,” Rahmani said, saying prosecutors will need to do more than simply present ballistics evidence to prove that Baldwin had a broader responsibility and legal duty when it came to handling the gun on set.
Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe is where the fatal shooting occurred in October 2021.credit: AP
Judges recently agreed to put on hold several civil lawsuits seeking damages from Baldwin and the producers of “Rust” after prosecutors said they would present the charges to a grand jury. The plaintiffs in those lawsuits include members of the film crew.
Special prosecutors dismissed the manslaughter charge against Baldwin in April, saying they were told the gun may have been modified before the shooting and was malfunctioning. They later pivoted and began considering whether to refile the charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun.
The analysis, conducted by experts in ballistics and forensic testing, relied on spare parts to reassemble the gun fired by Baldwin, after parts of the gun broke during testing conducted by the FBI. The report examined the gun and the marks it left on the spent cartridge to conclude that the trigger must have been pulled or pressed.
The analysis by Lucien Haag, of Arizona Forensic Science Services, stated that although Baldwin repeatedly denied pulling the trigger, “given the tests, results and observations reported here, the trigger had to have been pulled or depressed sufficiently to fire the hammer.” Completely prefabricated or drawn. From the evidence gun.”
The weapons supervisor on set, Hannah Gutierrez Reid, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and tampering with evidence in the case. Her trial is scheduled to begin in February.
Hannah Gutierrez Reid, Rust's gunsmith.credit: Facebook
“Rust” assistant director and safety coordinator David Holz pleaded no contest to unsafe handling of a firearm last March and was given a six-month suspended prison sentence. He agreed to cooperate in the investigation into the shooting.
An earlier FBI report on the agency's analysis of the gun concluded that, as is common with firearms of this design, it could go off without the trigger being pulled if force was applied to an uncocked hammer, such as by dropping the weapon.
The only way testers could fire it was to strike the gun with a hammer while the hammer was down and resting on the cartridge, or by pulling the trigger while it was fully cocked. The gun eventually broke during testing.
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The 2021 shooting led to a series of civil lawsuits, including wrongful death claims brought by members of Hutchins' family, centered on accusations that the defendants were lax with safety standards. Baldwin and other defendants have disputed the allegations.
Rust Movie Productions paid a $100,000 fine to state workplace safety regulators after a scathing account of failures to violate standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two errors on set before shooting Deadly.
Filming of “Rust” resumed last year in Montana, under an agreement with the cinematographer’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, that made him an executive producer.
