FILE PHOTO: Actor Alec Baldwin departs his home in New York, U.S., January 31, 2023. REUTERS/David ‘Dee’ Delgado
Actor Alec Baldwin entered a not guilty plea on Thursday to a charge of involuntary manslaughter stemming from a fatal shooting on the New Mexico set of the film “Rust,” court documents show.
Baldwin made the plea while exercising his right to waive a first court appearance that was set for Friday, according to a court filing.
New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies in January charged Baldwin and the movie’s set armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Prosecutors last week downgraded charges against Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin, reducing the possible prison time for the actor who fired a live round during a rehearsal, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin’s defense team argued that he had been charged retroactively with a New Mexico firearms law that was passed after the shooting took place on Oct. 21, 2021.
Gutierrez-Reed will make a first court appearance on Friday via video link, her lawyer Jason Bowles said.
First assistant director Dave Halls also plead not guilty in a Thursday court filing in which he waived a Feb. 24 first court appearance.
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed now faces a maximum of 18 months in prison if convicted. Before the prosecutor dropped the alternative charge he risked a minimum five-years in jail.