Alec Baldwin’s career remains in limbo.
The actor has not been able to shake the horrific incident that happened during filming of the movie Rust.
And Baldwin got some bad news about his deadly mistake.
Alec Baldwin has been attempting to salvage his reputation after firing the gun that shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during production on the western Rust.
During an interview with ABC News, Baldwin claims he did not fire the gun, but an FBI report suggested that Baldwin’s account of what happened would have been impossible based on the mechanics of the gun.
Now the district attorney overseeing the case could be on the brink of filing criminal charges against Baldwin.
From The Santa Fe New Mexican:
“The state Board of Finance has awarded the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office more than $317,000 to prosecute people connected to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set of the Alec Baldwin film Rust in October, according to the board’s website. The money — awarded in response to an emergency request from District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies — is only about half of what the District Attorney’s Office estimates it will need to bring charges against up to four people, according to a copy of the request obtained by The New Mexican. The DA’s Office had requested $635,000 to cover the cost of prosecuting the case.”
So DA Carmack-Altwies requested money to pursue criminal charges, which suggests prosecution could be around the corner.
Not only did Baldwin have the gun in his hand, he was one of the producers on the film.
If charges were pursued, it’s hard to imagine Baldwin would not be involved.
In her request, Carmack-Altwies stated, “We will be requesting a special appropriation for the rest of the money…One of the possible defendants is well known movie actor Alec Baldwin.”
She also stated that there could be “up to four separate jury trials.”
Out of the blue, Carmack-Altwies was the subject of a glowing puff piece in Vanity Fair in the middle of the Rust investigation, which led some to speculate that the profile was an enticement for her to let sleeping dogs lie.
But it appears that she is moving ahead nonetheless.
A few months back, Baldwin tried to suggest that he had been exonerated after New Mexico OSHA levied a hefty fine against the production.
But New Mexico state official James Kenny explained, “Our OSHA investigators have determined that Rust Production failed in their obligation to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards. More specifically, there were several management failures, and more than sufficient evidence to suggest that if standard industry practices were followed, the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins and the serious injury to Joel Souza would not have occurred. Through our investigation, we determined that Rust Production’s failures were both serious and wilful. To this end, we issued the maximum possible fine of $136,793 to the company…While this concludes our OSHA investigation into this matter, I understand law enforcement is continuing its criminal investigation.”
As Kenny promised, the criminal investigation did continue.
And now charges could soon be coming for Baldwin.