A New Mexico judge declined to reconsider criminal charges against Alec Baldwin in connection with the shooting on the set of “Rust,” which left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead.
District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer on Thursday doubled-down on her decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, who served as both a producer and leading man for the upcoming western flick. She cited the prosecution’s failure to provide any factual or legal arguments that would justify a reversal of the ruling she made over the summer.
“Because the state’s amended motion raises arguments previously made, and arguments that the state elected not to raise earlier, the court does not find the amended motion well taken,” the judge wrote, adding that the request was also untimely.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey had requested the case be dismissed with prejudice, which would allow for her to take another run at Baldwin. She said she disagreed with Sommer’s decision and vowed to appeal.
Baldwin was rehearsing a scene inside the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M., when he mistakenly shot Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021. He was seated in a church pew, practicing a move in which he whips a pistol from its holster, when it suddenly went off. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was also struck in the shoulder and has since recovered.
Both 66-year-old Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were subsequently charged with involuntary manslaughter in Hutchin’s death.
In the aftermath of the accidental gunfire, Baldwin denied any wrongdoing. The prop gun, which he believed to contain dummy rounds, actually had a live round of ammunition in it. And while he confessed to pulling back its hammer, he has maintained that he did not pull the trigger.
Back in July, Sommer, in a shock move, tossed Baldwin’s case in the middle of trial, blaming the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office and Morrisey’s failure to disclose key evidence regarding the source of the live round that killed Hutchins. The actor’s legal team said it was an effort to bury key evidence while the prosecution argued that it was not directly relevant to the case.
Gutierrez-Reed, meanwhile, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the case and sentenced to 18 months in prison.