Prosecutors to Drop Charges Against Alec Baldwin in ‘Rust’ Shooting

New Mexico prosecutors are dropping the involuntary manslaughter charges that were filed against Alec Baldwin for the 2021 shooting death of a cinematographer on the set of the film “Rust,” the government’s latest setback as it pursued a high-profile case that has been closely watched by the movie industry and the country.

It was a dramatic reversal in the case against Mr. Baldwin, just months after the prosecutors who originally handled the case had filed charges against him, including one that carried five years in prison. Since then they downgraded that charge, which stemmed from a law that was not in effect at the time of the shooting; the special prosecutor leading the case stepped down after her appointment was challenged on legal grounds; and the district attorney in charge of the case, Mary Carmack-Altwies, stepped back and appointed two new special prosecutors to lead it.

The decision to drop the charges against Mr. Baldwin came after the new prosecutors reviewed new evidence that showed that the gun he was practicing with had been modified before it was delivered to the set, according to an official close to the investigation who was granted anonymity to discuss the case. That undercut the prosecution’s original argument that the gun could not have fired unless Mr. Baldwin had pulled the trigger, the official said.

It is possible that prosecutors could decide to file new charges against Mr. Baldwin.

“New facts were revealed that demand further investigation and forensic analysis in the case against Alec Baldwin,” Kari Morrissey, one of the new special prosecutors, said in a statement. “Therefore, we cannot proceed under the current time constraints and on the facts and evidence turned over by law enforcement in its existing form. This decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled.”

The shooting occurred on Oct. 21, 2021, when a gun Mr. Baldwin was practicing with on the set of “Rust” went off, killing the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, and wounding its director, Joel Souza.

Mr. Baldwin had been told that day that the gun he was practicing with — a replica of a vintage revolver — was “cold,” meaning there was no live ammunition in it. He has maintained from the beginning that he did not pull the trigger before the gun fired, telling investigators that it went off after he had pulled the hammer back and let it go. But the original prosecutors had said that an F.B.I. analysis of the gun showed that he must have pulled the trigger, which contributed to their decision to bring charges.

In a statement, Mr. Baldwin’s lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, said, “We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident.”

Paperwork officially dismissing those charges is expected to be filed before a status hearing on the case on Friday afternoon.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, who loaded the gun the day of the shooting and was responsible for weapons on the set of the western, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter in the case. One of her lawyers, Jason Bowles, said that the charges against Ms. Gutierrez-Reed remained.

Filming on the movie is set to resume this week in Montana, where the production has moved from New Mexico. The revived production has Ms. Hutchins’s widower, Matthew Hutchins, as an executive producer.

After the news of the decision on Thursday, Mr. Baldwin posted a photo of himself and his wife on Instagram, writing, “I owe everything I have to this woman.” He added, “(and to you, Luke),” apparently referring to one of his lawyers, Mr. Nikas.

While Mr. Baldwin maintained that he never pulled the trigger, the district attorney, Ms. Carmack-Altwies, a Democrat who was elected in 2020, said when announcing the charges that an F.B.I. analysis of the gun had shown “conclusively” that the trigger had been pulled. But a person with knowledge of the investigation said that Mr. Baldwin’s legal team had recently provided prosecutors with new evidence that the gun had been modified without his knowledge in a way that made it less safe to handle.

The decision to dismiss the charges was the latest in a series of setbacks for the prosecution. After the charges against Mr. Baldwin were downgraded, Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor originally appointed to handle the case, stepped down after his lawyers argued that her appointment violated a provision in the State Constitution that bars officials from serving in two branches of government, since she is also a state lawmaker.

A judge then ruled that Ms. Carmack-Altwies could not appoint any special prosecutor without recusing herself from the case. So she stepped down from the case last month, appointing Ms. Morrissey and Jason Lewis, New Mexico lawyers, as special prosecutors.

Investigators were not able to determine how live ammunition got onto the “Rust” set. Mr. Baldwin has said that he was following direction as he practiced drawing the gun that day.

“Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property,” Mr. Baldwin said in a television interview on ABC less than two months after the shooting. “Someone is ​responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”

When her office announced that it was bringing manslaughter charges against Mr. Baldwin in January, Ms. Carmack-Altwies said that he had “an absolute duty to know that what is in the gun that is being placed in his hand is safe” — an assertion that was questioned by some actors, armorers, union leaders and others in the film industry.

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing film, television and radio workers, said in a statement at the time that her “contention that an actor has a duty to ensure the functional and mechanical operation of a firearm on a production set is wrong and uninformed” and added that “an actor’s job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert.”

The movie’s first assistant director, Dave Halls, who had oversight of safety on the “Rust” set, reached a plea deal with Ms. Carmack-Altwies and Ms. Reeb on a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to six months of probation.

A judge in New Mexico will decide next month whether the manslaughter charges against Ms. Gutierrez-Reed should move forward. Her lawyer has said she intends to plead not guilty.

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