Negligence on the set of “Rust” could lead to criminal charges against crew who inspected the gun held by Alec Baldwin in the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.
The accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” will likely lead to civil action, but it is unclear if criminal charges will be brought against the two crew members who inspected the prop gun held by Alec Baldwin prior to the fatal incident, lawyers said. “It will go to civil court 100%,” said Richard Kaplan, a criminal defense attorney. “There was someone who was killed on a movie set because of negligence. The family, of course, will do that and have the right to do that and everyone expects that.” While New Mexico authorities have not ruled out criminal charges in the case, Kaplan said, even with solid evidence of negligence, prosecutors may refrain from filing charges against members of the “Rust” crew. The investigation is ongoing, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Wednesday during a joint news conference with New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies. Investigators disclosed that 500 rounds were located on the set, which were a mix of blank ammunition, dummy rounds and, possibly, live rounds. This evidence will be submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis, he said ‘Totally preventable’ “I think there’s all kinds of scenarios that can play out here again,” Mendoza told NBC’s Miguel Almaguer in an interview Thursday. “We need to make a determination of who was responsible for bringing the rounds onto set and why they were there. And then ultimately, who was responsible for the safety of that firearm, and up until the firing of the firearm.” Mendoza said there wasn’t any clear organization of ammunition on set and called the tragedy “totally preventable.” Carmack-Altwies said in a separate interview with Almaguer that New Mexico does not have a negligent homicide charge, instead an involuntary manslaughter charge would be used. Involuntary manslaughter, in this case, occurs when a person or persons is engaging in a lawful act, but unintentionally kills someone by being negligent or not exercising due care. For example, this charge has been used in cases where someone is legally driving a vehicle, exceeds the speed limit and accidentally kills another person. Involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony and carries a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and probation. “We have started researching and started looking into potential charges,” Carmack-Altwies said. “Not because we are looking at charging someone but because that’s what we have to do as prosecutors.” This research is important because criminal cases are held to a higher standard and the district attorney will need to be confident that she can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that individuals on set were reckless, Kaplan said.
