Alec Baldwin was offered lenient 'Rust' plea deal that would have given him a ... trends now
Alec Baldwin was offered a plea deal last year that would have seen him serve no jail time in connection with the manslaughter of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Variety reported that before the 65-year-old could decide whether to accept the terms, prosecutors pulled the offer and said they would be indicting him.
In a filing seen by the outlet, prosecutor Kary Morrissey offered 'a plea deal identical to the petty misdemeanor deal accepted by Dave Halls.
The filing states that the offer was made on October 5 and Baldwin was given until October 27 to decide, but prosecutors rescinded the offer on October 17.
Halls, the first assistant director on Rust, did not serve prison time after pleading to a count of negligent handling of a deadly weapon.
Variety reported that before the 65-year-old could decide whether to accept the terms, prosecutors pulled the offer and said they would be indicting him
Baldwin will go on trial later this year for manslaughter in connection with the death of Halyna Hutchins, seen here in 2019
He was given six months of unsupervised probation, a $500 fine, 24 hours of community service and ordered to take a firearm safety class.
Baldwin's lawyers have accused the prosecutors in the case of a list of abuses and are looking to have case dismissed.
Variety reported that his lawyers claim that Morrissey repeatedly leaked confidential information about the grand jury proceedings to an NBC reporter.
In November, lawyers representing the actor filed a motion for sanctions over that issue, and asked to have Morrisey and her co-counsel removed from the case.
They also sought to have monetary penalties imposed against Morrissey over her alleged misconduct.
At a hearing on November 15, the judge overseeing the case admonished the parties not to disclose anything about the grand jury proceedings.
The judge also postponed the grand jury proceeding from November to January to allow more time to review material the defense wanted to present.
Attorney's for Baldwin allege that within an hour of the hearing, Morrissey then called the NBC reporter to relay the scheduling update
The shooting happened in October 2021 after two weeks of filming while Baldwin was practicing drawing out his gun from the holster
Halls, seen here, was the first assistant director on Rust and did not serve prison time after pleading to a count of negligent handling of a deadly weapon
Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and also faced a charge of tampering with evidence
In this image taken from video released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, Alec Baldwin speaks with investigators following the fatal shooting
NBC reported that same day that the grand jury proceeding had been postponed, citing an 'unnamed source'.
The reporter then allegedly contacted lawyers for Baldwin seeking comment hours after the judge made the ruling.
In a filing earlier this week, Baldwin and his attorney Alex Spiro also claimed that the prosecutors rigged the jury process in the case.
They are arguing that the grand jury process was rigged by the Santa Fe
