Actor Alec Baldwin is among up to four people who may face charges for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of western Rust last year, a New Mexico prosecutor has said.
The final police report on the shooting near Santa Fe is expected next month, at which time prosecutors will file criminal charges, if warranted, district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told the state's finance board.
Investigators are focusing on the "many individuals" who handled the pistol Baldwin fired during a rehearsal, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza, Carmack-Altwies said in a letter to the board on August 30.
"One of the possible defendants is well-known movie actor Alec Baldwin," she said in the letter, requesting an additional $635,500 in funding to prosecute the high-profile case.
Four jury trials with each defendant charged under some variation of state homicide statutes are possible, Carmack-Altwies told the board in a meeting this month.
The former public defender said her team faced "well-paid and experienced defence lawyers" from Los Angeles and New York and would need to retain a near full-time prosecutor, special investigator, media spokesperson and expert witnesses.
The finance board granted the district attorney's office $317,750.
Baldwin has denied responsibility for Hutchins's death and said live rounds should never have been allowed on to the set.
His attorney Luke Nikas on Monday warned against assumptions Baldwin would be charged.
“The DA has made clear that she has not received the sheriff’s report or made any decisions about who, if anyone, might be charged in this case," Nikas said.
