Prosecutors are seeking further testing on the gun that Alec
Baldwin was handling on the “Rust” film set when it fired and killed
cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, as they work to decide whether to revive a
criminal case against the actor.
اضافة اعلان
Baldwin was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter,
but prosecutors in New Mexico dismissed the case against him last month. They
withdrew the charges after being presented with evidence suggesting that the
gun Baldwin had been rehearsing with that day had been modified, which
potentially made an unintentional discharge easier.
The old-fashioned revolver at the center of the case has
already been examined by the FBI, but on Wednesday, the prosecutors, Kari T.
Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis, sought court approval to have it tested by an
outside ballistics expert. They wrote in court papers that they had learned
during their investigation that the hammer of the gun may have been
intentionally modified.
“The modification appears to be related to the notches on
the internal portion of the hammer for full-cock, half-cock, and quarter cock
positions,” the prosecutors wrote in court papers. “It appears that these
notches may have been partially removed or ground down so that they are less
prominent.”
The ballistics expert, Lucien Haag, who has worked as a
consultant for prosecutors and defense lawyers, would also be asked to
determine whether other firearms that had been on the set had also been
modified “possibly for ease of use by actors,” the prosecutors wrote. Live and
inert ammunition found at the scene, as well as powder residue left on
Hutchins’ clothing, would be submitted for testing as well.
Baldwin has long denied responsibility for the fatal
shooting of Hutchins in 2021, asserting that he had been told the gun did not
contain live ammunition and that he had not pulled the trigger before it went
off. He said that the gun fired after he had pulled its hammer back and let it
go.
A lawyer for Baldwin did not immediately comment on the
request for further testing.
The prosecutors who filed the charges against Baldwin had
maintained that based on FBI testing of the gun, it could not have fired
without the trigger having been depressed. But any modifications to the gun
that would have made it easier to go off would complicate a prosecutor’s
argument that Baldwin had behaved negligently on set.
The involuntary manslaughter charges against the movie’s
armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, still stand. A lawyer representing her, Jason
Bowles, has said she plans to plead not guilty. Bowles said Wednesday that he
welcomed the continued investigation into the source of the live rounds that
were found on the set and into the functionality of the firearm.
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