US judge approves Rust assistant director’s plea deal over fatal shooting
A Santa Fe judge on Friday accepted a plea deal, bringing the first conviction for the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of the western movie Rust in New Mexico.
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Dave Halls, first assistant director on Rust, pleaded no contest as part of an agreement with prosecutors to the misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon for his role in Hutchins’ death.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer of Santa Fe district court presided over a virtual hearing in Halls’ case on Friday.
She sentenced Halls, who was responsible for on-set safety, to a six-month suspended sentence with unsupervised probation, a $500 fine, 24 hours of community service and a firearms safety class.
Hutchins was killed when a revolver held by the actor Alec Baldwin fired a live round during a rehearsal. As first assistant director, prosecutors said Halls was responsible for set safety on Rust.
The conviction marked a step forward for state prosecutors plagued by legal setbacks since they filed charges in January.
“Halls did not check every round in the gun to confirm it was a dummy round and not a live round,” state prosecutor Kari Morrissey said during the plea hearing.
Halls, an industry-veteran with more than 80 credits including The Matrix Reloaded and The Crow: Salvation, was the only member of the Rust cast and crew to enter a plea bargain. Prosecutors said he approached them and was cooperative.
It remains unclear whether he will testify on behalf of the prosecution in a May preliminary hearing where Marlowe Sommer will decide whether there is probable cause to try Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
Baldwin pleaded not guilty to a criminal charge of involuntary manslaughter. The actor said he relied on weapons experts – Gutierrez-Reed and Halls – to ensure the firearm was safe to use.
Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for firearm safety and training, will also plead not guilty, according to her lawyer. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are the only others charged in the case.