October 7, 2021: Alec Baldwin attends the World Premiere of National Geographic Documentary Films' 'The First Wave' at Hamptons International Film Festival in East Hampton, New York.Getty Images
The charges against Alec Baldwin stemming from the October 2021 fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of his film “Rust” are set to be dismissed.
“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin, and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Baldwin’s attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in a statement to Deadline on Thursday, April 20.
Prosecutors for New Mexico's First Judicial District, where the charges against Baldwin were filed earlier this year, had not made public comment at the time of publication on Thursday.
Baldwin, the eldest of the 'Irish Catholic' acting brothers, co-wrote, produced, and was starring in the American Western "Rust."
On October 21, 2021, he fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza with a prop gun while filming. Baldwin has denied pulling the trigger.
This past January, New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced that Baldwin, as well as armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were each going to be charged in the alternative” with the two counts of manslaughter.
Upon the announcement of the charges in January, Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas said: “This decision distorts Halyna Hutchins’s tragic death and represents a terrible miscarriage of justice.
"Mr. Baldwin had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun — or anywhere on the movie set. He relied on the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him the gun did not have live rounds.
"We will fight these charges, and we will win.”
In February, Baldwin pleaded not guilty after prosecutors downgraded the seriousness of the charges, reducing the potential prison time, according to Reuters. Guttierez-Reed has also pleaded not guilty; as of Thursday, there was no mention of her charges being dismissed.
Earlier on Thursday before news of the dismissal broke, AP reported that New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham had signed a new $360,000 allowance for the prosecution of the case this month, Evidentiary hearings were scheduled in early May in state District Court to decide whether to proceed toward trial.
In a strange twist, "Rust" was due to resume filming in Montana on Thursday, the same day that Baldwin's lawyers said his case was set to be dismissed.