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A New Mexico grand jury indicted the 65-year-old “30 Rock” star on one count of involuntary manslaughter on Friday, Jan. 19, in the death of Halyna Hutchins, according to the outlet.
The move came nine months after prosecutors announced they were dropping manslaughter charges against Baldwin citing the need for further investigation.
Hutchins, age 42, was mortally wounded on Oct. 21, 2021, as the crew was preparing to film a scene for “Rust,” a Western film shot at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, located about 13 miles southwest of Santa Fe.
According to investigators, the scene required Baldwin’s character to remove a gun from his holster and then point it at the camera.
As he explained how the scene would play out, Baldwin removed the gun and a live round was fired, striking Hutchins in the chest and director Joel Souza in the shoulder.
Hutchins was flown to a hospital in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead.
Souza was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and was released the following morning.
Baldwin told investigators that prior to the shooting, he had been told the gun did not contain any live rounds. He has also denied pulling the trigger.
However, a forensic report found that the only way the gun would’ve fired was for the trigger to be pulled, The New York Times reports.
Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies had initially announced that Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the movie’s armorer, would be criminally charged in January 2023.
They were to be charged “in the alternative,” she said, meaning that a jury would not decide if they were guilty, but would instead decide what definition of involuntary manslaughter they were guilty of.
Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty and is still awaiting trial.
In New Mexico, a conviction for involuntary manslaughter carries up to 18 months in prison.
A native New Yorker, Baldwin was born on Long Island in Amityville, raised in Massapequa, and now resides in the Hamptons, in Amagansett.
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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