Prosecutors DROP key ‘gun enhancement’ charge against Alec Baldwin in ‘Rust’ shooting that would have seen him jailed for FIVE years – and now actor might not spend any time behind bars
Prosecutors have dropped key charges against Alec Baldwin which would have seen him jailed for five years after shooting dead ‘Rust’ cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The Santa Fe County District Attorney’s office has dropped a gun enhancement charge against the actor – meaning that even if he is convicted of the involuntary manslaughter charge, he may not spend any time behind bars.
A lawyer on behalf of Baldwin filed a motion excoriating prosecutors for going after the actor with a law that did not apply to him last week.
Initially, the gun enhancement charge was tacked onto his involuntary manslaughter charges but Santa Fe DA’s office confirmed to DailyMail.com that it was removed on Friday.
The charge requires the person who has used the gun to ‘brandish’ the weapon, meaning the gun was displayed with intent to intimidate or injure a person.
The Santa Fe County District Attorneys’ office has dropped the gun enhancement charge against Baldwin
At the time of the shooting, Baldwin was on set shooting for ‘Rust’, meaning that it is unlikely that the charge meets the New Mexico law.
However a new amendment to the law means that brandishing is no longer needed – a change that happened seven months after the fatal incident.
Santa Fe District Attorney said in a statement: ‘In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the ‘Rust’ film set.
‘The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys.’
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