The Santa Fe County District Attorney’s Office plans to indict up to four people, including actor Alec Baldwin, in the shooting of a cinematographer on the set of “Rust” last year if prosecutors find criminal charges warranted. said it could be done.
The District Attorney’s Office speculated with state officials late last month about a potential claim and requested additional funds to cover the costs it would incur if indicted.
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies clarified in her funding request that her office had not yet decided whether to press charges, but “if charges are warranted,” she said. You started one sentence. She has pointed out in the past that her office can charge up to four people.
Documents attached to the funding request read, “One of the possible defendants is renowned film actor Alec Baldwin.”
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has been investigating the death of cinematographer Halina Hutchins, who was shot on October 21 while Mr. Baldwin practiced pulling an old-fashioned revolver out of his shoulder holster. rice field. He opened fire, killing Hutchins and wounding film director Joel Souza, despite being misrepresented as having no live ammunition in his gun. Baldwin claims he was responsible for the deadly shooting, saying he didn’t pull the trigger and he didn’t know how the live bullet entered the set.
Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas, said in a statement that the district attorney had not yet made a decision on who could be charged. , during correspondence with her office after submitting the funding request, said, “It is too early to discuss the matter because they have not yet reviewed the files and deliberated on the decision to prosecute. I was told,” he said.
“The DA office must be given room to consider this issue without unsubstantiated speculation or allusion,” Nikas said.
Carmack-Altwies has said for months that the case could lead to criminal charges, but her office is awaiting the results of an investigation by the sheriff’s office before making a final decision. . At a meeting with the New Mexico State Finance Commission last week, Carmack Altwith said he expects the results of these findings to arrive within days or weeks.
“It has become clear that we may have one to four criminal charges,” Carmack Altwith told board members at the Sept. 20 meeting. decree.
Carmack-Altwies said in a petition for more than $600,000 in emergency funding that her office would hire a dedicated prosecutor, special agent, public relations officer, paralegal and several experts to work on the case. He told the board that there was a need.
“These cases seem too big for my office alone to handle,” she said at the meeting.
The Board has approved over $300,000 in funding, and the Secretariat may request additional funding as work progresses.
Graham Bowery contributed to the report.