By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A New Mexico county sheriff on Monday made public case files from his department’s investigation of last year’s shooting death on the set of the film “Rust” but said a formal decision on criminal charges would depend on analysis of ballistics, DNA and the phone of actor and producer Alec Baldwin.
The state of New Mexico last week fined Rust Movie Productions the maximum amount possible, $137,000, for what it called “willful” safety lapses leading to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Hutchins, 42, was killed during filming in October when the revolver Baldwin was holding fired a live round that struck her in the chest and lodged in the shoulder of director Joel Souza. Souza survived the gunshot wound.
Baldwin has denied responsibility for Hutchins’ death and said live rounds should never have been allowed onto the set of the Western film at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who has previously indicated that criminal charges were a possibility in the case, said in a written statement on Monday that all files connected to the investigation were being made public.
He said those files included body-worn and dashboard cameras, crime scene photos, reports, witness interviews and other material.
“Various components of the investigation remain outstanding, including FBI firearm and ballistic forensics along with DNA and latent fingerprint analysis, (coroner’s) findings and the analysis of Mr. Alec Baldwin’s phone data extracted by Suffolk County Sheriff’s investigators,” Mendoza said in the statement.
Baldwin, a producer on the film, has been named in several lawsuits filed in connection with Hutchins’ death, including one by her husband, Matthew.
The 64-year-old actor has argued in court papers that an indemnification clause in his contract shields him from personal liability in claims stemming from the film production.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
