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Hollywood star Alec Baldwin has arrived in a Santa Fe courthouse where he will stand trial in the deadly shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust.
It’s been almost three years since a rehearsal of a shooting scene in the western film ended tragically, when a prop gun Baldwin was holding went off, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
Baldwin, 66, has insisted that he didn’t pull the trigger on the firearm and didn’t know it contained a live round, claiming that it fired accidentally.
He is charged with a single felony count of involuntary manslaughter over the October 2021 incident. He faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
On Monday, Baldwin appeared in court for a pre-trial hearing where the judge ruled Baldwin’s role as a co-producer on the movie is not relevant to the case.
Jury selection is now underway in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with opening statements expected to begin on Wednesday.
Baldwin’s high-profile trial comes after the movie’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in April and sentenced to the maximum 18 months in prison.
