Alec Baldwin, an American actor, has vowed to defend in court if he is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his film Rust in October 2021.
Prosecutors in New Mexico said on Tuesday that they will submit a case against Baldwin to a grand jury.
Luke Nikas, the actor’s attorney, termed the ruling ‘unfortunate’ and stated that he intended to challenge the matter in court.
‘It is sad that a terrible tragedy has been converted into this erroneous prosecution. ‘We will answer any charges in court,’ said the solicitors.
The special prosecutors on the case, Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, have stated that they will present the evidence to the grand jury within the next two months to be evaluated for criminal charges.
If convicted, the father of eight could face up to 18 months in prison.
Baldwin and his attorneys argued he was being made an example of by a fame-hungry, fanatical prosecutor.
Reeb resigned from the case before Mary Carmack-Altwies, the elected Santa Fe District Attorney then withdrew from the case after a judge determined she could not team up with a special prosecutor.
‘Carmack-Altwies had said that her office was too understaffed to handle the case without outside help,’ Variety Australia reported.
After more than a year of investigation, the actor was charged with involuntary manslaughter in January, but those charges were dropped in April of this year after his defense lawyers raised doubts about the functionality of the gun.
They suggested that the gun he was using could have been altered before he handled it, which then led to it malfunctioning when he pulled the trigger.
