New Mexico DA closes in on Rust crew with charges expected within weeks
Jenny Goldsberry
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New Mexico’s first judicial district attorney is expected to file charges against the film crew of Rust later this month — 15 months after the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
DA Mary Carmack-Altwies is anticipated to make a decision on criminal charges for as many as four crew members by the end of January, according to a report. This comes 14 months after local police released its report of the shooting and 16 months after the FBI finished examining evidence and handed its results to Carmack-Altwies’s office.
Carmack-Altwies initially requested $635,500 from the State of New Mexico Board of Finance for an attorney, investigator, media contact person, paralegal, expert witnesses, and general trial expenses. In September, her office was granted $317,750 toward the investigation. In the funding request letter, Carmack-Altwies revealed she was considering charges for as many as four people.
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District Attorney’s Letter to State of New Mexico Board of Finance
Those speculated to possibly face criminal charges are prop supplier Seth Kenney, prop master Sarah Zachry, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, assistant director David Halls, who handed the gun to Alec Baldwin, and even Baldwin himself, who was holding the weapon at the time. All five are named in a separate lawsuit filed by script supervisor Mamie Mitchell.
“On the anniversary of the tragedy on the Rust film set in Santa Fe County, I remain committed to pursuing justice for the victims, and getting answers for the community,” Carmack-Altwies wrote in a Facebook post at the time. “As soon as my office receives the full report from the Santa Fe County Sheriff, I and my team of professional attorneys and investigators will thoroughly review all the evidence and make a thoughtful decision about whether to bring charges against those involved. No one is above the law and every victim deserves justice.”
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Baldwin has maintained his innocence since the October 2021 shooting. The actor reached a settlement with Hutchins’s family for an unknown amount just before the anniversary of her death.