A judge on Friday denied Alec Baldwin’s motion to throw out the manslaughter case.
In January Alec Baldwin was indicted by a grand jury on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal ‘Rust’ shooting.
If convicted, he faces up to 18 months in prison.
NBC News reported:
Alec Baldwin is set to stand trial on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 killing of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after a New Mexico judge denied the actor’s bid to dismiss the case Friday.
Baldwin, who has pleaded not guilty, is set to go to trial in July.
“We look forward to our day in court,” Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, attorneys for Alec Baldwin, said in a statement Friday.
Judge Mary Marlowe’s decision comes after she heard oral arguments from Baldwin lawyers and prosecutors in a Santa Fe court on May 17.
During that hearing, special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey said, referring to Baldwin, that “the actor has responsibility for the firearms once it is in their hands.”
Last year, Alec Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.
Halyna Hutchins
Baldwin shot and killed 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins and injured 48-year-old Joel Souza on the movie set of ‘Rust’ in Santa Fe, New Mexico in October 2021.
Prosecutors requested a second analysis of the gun Alec Baldwin used.
Firearms expert Lucien Haag concluded the gun Alec Baldwin used on set had not been modified.
“Although Alec Baldwin repeatedly denies pulling the trigger, given the tests, findings and observations reported here, the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver,” firearms expert Lucien Haag wrote.
“From an examination of the fired cartridge case and the operationally restored evidence revolver, this fatal incident was the consequence of the hammer being manually retracted to its fully rearward and cocked position followed, at some point, by the pull or rearward depression of the trigger,” Haag wrote.
