The Santa Fe prosecutor’s office announced Monday that it was dropping the weapons enhancement charges – a crime that would have resulted in five years in prison if convicted – against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust . in October 2021.
Baldwin still faces involuntary manslaughter charges over the shooting, but that crime would carry a reduced sentence of 18 months if convicted. The amended complaint was filed late Friday.
Charges were also dropped against gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who faces the same involuntary manslaughter charge as Baldwin.
MORE: ‘Rust’ timeline: Key events from Alec Baldwin’s on-set filming
“In order to avoid further contentious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and Special Attorney removed the firearms extension from the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the ‘Rust’ film set,” Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack said -Altwies in a statement with. “The priority of the prosecution is to ensure justice, not to ensure billable hours for big city attorneys.”
The decision to drop the charges was a victory for Baldwin, who appears in court for the first time on Friday.
Baldwin’s legal team filed a motion on Feb. 10, arguing that the five-year gun upgrade did not apply at the time of writing the shooting: “Prosecutors made a fundamental error of law in charging Mr. Baldwin under one version of the gun upgrade law.” , which did not exist at the time of the accident.” The accident happened in October 2021, but the current version of the law did not come into force until May 2022.
This file handout photo, courtesy of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and part of the investigation files, shows actor Alec Baldwin being processed following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in Santa Fe, New Mexico on October 21, 2022. (-/Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)
A week earlier, his legal team filed a motion to disqualify Andrea Reeb, the special attorney appointed by Carmack-Altwies, arguing that she was also an elected member of the New Mexico House of Representatives and therefore had a conflict of interest.
Following the motion to dismiss the weapon enhancement charges, the district attorney released a statement, also criticizing his “freaky attorneys.”
The story goes on
MORE: Alec Baldwin’s attorney seeks to disqualify special prosecutor who investigated ‘Rust’ shooting
“On another day, another filing by Alec Baldwin and his attorneys to distract from the gross negligence and utter disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set that led to the death of Halyna Hutchins,” said Heather Brewer, spokeswoman for New Mexico First District Attorney said. “In accordance with good legal practice, the District Attorney and Special Prosecutor will review all applications – including those presented to the media before they are served on the prosecution.” However, the focus of the prosecution and special prosecutor will always be to ensure that justice is served and that everyone – even celebrities with offbeat lawyers – is held accountable under the law.”
ABC News’ Vera Drymon, Matt Fuhrman, and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
DA Drops Weapons Enhancement Charges Against Alec Baldwin While Filming Rust, Originally Aired on abcnews.go.com