Grand jury to decide on possible new charges against Alec Baldwin for fatal 'Rust' set shooting
A grand jury in New Mexico is expected to make a decision Thursday on whether new charges should be filed against actor and movie director Alec Baldwin for the "Rust" movie set shooting that killed a cinematographer.
Baldwin, a coproducer of the film, was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the film’s set outside Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the gun fired.
Special prosecutors in April initially dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, saying at the time that they were informed the gun might have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. They later pivoted and began weighing whether to refile a charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun.
When the grand jury convenes Thursday, they will listen to the prosecutor and witnesses and then vote on whether they believe enough evidence exists to recharge Baldwin.
"The defense doesn't participate," sister station KOAT Legal Expert John Day said. "Alec Baldwin or any other target would have a chance to testify if they wanted to. Most of them don't. But the defense does not get to participate, does not get to ask questions about the grand jury."
The film set's weapons supervisor, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the shooting. According to court documents obtained by KOAT, Baldwin's name was excluded from the witness list in Gutierrez-Reed's case. The witness list in the case against Gutierrez-Reed includes 40 names.
“I think what this is telling us is there's a very good chance that they're going to be filing charges either through a grand jury or through a preliminary hearing against Alec Baldwin,” Day said.
Day said Baldwin’s name could be added to the witness list if he does not get recharged.
“Both sides can always amend their witness list,” Day said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report