Weapons expert in 'Rust' film set shooting case was hungover on set, prosecutors say
The weapons supervisor on the film set where Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer was drinking and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the filming of 맥스카지노Rust,맥스카지노 prosecutors are alleging, saying she was likely hungover when she loaded a live bullet into the revolver that the actor used.
They leveled the accusations Friday in response to a motion filed last month by Hannah Gutierrez-Reed맥스카지노s attorneys that seeks to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter charge. The prosecutors accused her of having a history of reckless conduct and argued that it would be in the public interest for her to 맥스카지노finally be held accountable.맥스카지노
Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed맥스카지노s attorney, said Tuesday that the prosecution has mishandled the case.
맥스카지노The case is so weak that they now have chosen to resort to character assassination claims about Hannah,맥스카지노 Bowles told The Associated Press. 맥스카지노The prosecution has abandoned the idea of doing justice and getting to the actual truth apparently.맥스카지노
A preliminary hearing for Gutierrez-Reed is scheduled in August. A judge is expected to decide then if there맥스카지노s probable cause for Gutierrez-Reed맥스카지노s charge to move forward.
In the response, the prosecutors also noted that they expected to decide within the next 60 days whether to recharge Baldwin, depending on the results of an analysis of the gun and its broken sear. The items were sent to the state맥스카지노s independent expert for further testing.
Video below: Investigation into the 'Rust' movie shooting
The involuntary manslaughter charge faced by Baldwin, who also was a producer on the film, was dismissed in April, with prosecutors citing new evidence and the need for more time to investigate.
Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on the New Mexico film set in October 2021 when it went off, killing her and wounding the film맥스카지노s director, Joel Souza.
Gutierrez-Reed's attorneys had argued in their motion that the prosecution was 맥스카지노tainted by improper political motives맥스카지노 and that Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and the initial special prosecutor she appointed, Andrea Reeb, 맥스카지노both used the tragic film set accident that resulted in the death of Halyna Hutchins as an opportunity to advance their personal interests.맥스카지노
The defense lawyers contend that the permanent damage done to the gun by FBI testing before the defense could examine it amounted to destruction of evidence and a violation of the court맥스카지노s rules of discovery. They also argued that the 맥스카지노selective prosecution맥스카지노 of Gutierrez-Reed was a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution맥스카지노s 14th Amendment.
New special prosecutors who were appointed after Reeb stepped down disputed those claims in their response, saying 맥스카지노nothing about this prosecution has or will be selective.맥스카지노
The prosecutors also acknowledged the unanswered question of where the live rounds found on set came from, saying they were trying to find out and that the investigation was ongoing. They also suggested there was evidence to support the theory that Gutierrez-Reed herself may be responsible and if so, more charges may follow.
They offered no specifics in the filing as to what that evidence might be.