Alec Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas hasannounced the star’s intention to “fight"theinvoluntary manslaughter chargesSanta Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and special prosecutor Andrea Reeb intend to file against him in the deadly 2021 on-set shooting death of cinematographerHalyna Hutchins.
And with a trial nearly all but certain, crisis PR management expert Gary Rosen says it is imperative for Baldwin to come across to a jury as “a good husband, loving father and family man. He can maintain his innocence of the charges, but it’s essential that he is contrite and not combative.”
Baldwin, who shares seven children with wifeHilaria, 39 (he’s also father to daughterIreland, 27, from a previous marriage toKim Basinger, 69), should also refrain from giving any more interviews on the topic in the immediate future.
“I would advise Alec to let his attorneys handle this going forward. That’s what he’s paying him for,” says Rosen, who adds thatBaldwin’s December 2021 ABC News interviewwas a misstep.
Alec Baldwin on the set ofRust.Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office/ZUMA
Though he held the Colt .45 at the time it went off, killing the 42-year-old mother and injuring director Joel Souza during a rehearsal, Baldwin has said he did not know the gun mistakenly contained a live bullet. In addition to that, “I didn’t pull the trigger,” he told Stephanopoulos.
Rosen says the chat and Baldwin’s bold prediction about avoiding charges “didn’t do him any favors.”
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The D.A.’s office said armorerHannah Gutierrez-Reedwill also be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Assistant director David Halls signed a plea agreement for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
Assistant director Halls' attorney Lisa Torracco, said in a statement, “Mr. Halls accepted a petty misdemeanor charge. Absent no charges at all, this is the best outcome for Mr. Halls and the case. He can now put this matter behind him and allow the focus of this tragedy to be on the shooting victims and changing the industry so this type of accident will never happen again. His charge is a petty misdemeanor. No jail time. Unsupervised probation. $500 fine. Mr. Halls denies handing a firearm to Mr. Baldwin.”
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source: people.com
