Back in October of 2021, Alec Baldwin accidentally fired a prop gun with a live round on the set of Rust, ultimately killing 42-year-old cinemaphotographer Halyna Hutchins.
Since the incident, both Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have been hammered with lawsuits, and were also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
And now, Rust assistant director David Halls has been sentenced to six-months probation for his involvement, according to the New York Post.
He was sentenced for failing to check if there were live rounds in the prop gun.
The New Mexico judge initially sentenced Halls to six months in jail, but suspended it after the 63-year-old agreed to testify in the upcoming criminal case against Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed.
Halls’ attorney, Lisa Torraco, claimed that it was Gutierrez-Reed’s job to check for live ammunition in the prop gun before handing it over to Halls, who ultimately handed it to Baldwin.
She said:
“When he checked the firearm at that point in time, he’s checking to see if there are any blanks or dummy rounds in the firearm.
Never in anyone’s wildest dreams or in anyone’s imagination … did anyone think that there could possibly be a live round in the firearm.
Mr. Halls does not handle firearms. His job is not to handle firearms. He does not like firearms.”
Special prosecutor Karen Morrissey disagreed with Torraco’s claims, saying that Halls was the “last line of defense” and was responsible for checking the gun before handing it to Baldwin.
She also added that crew members walked off set due to two prior incidents where prop weapons also discharged.
Morrissey said:
“Mr. Halls did not check every round that was in the gun to confirm that it was a dummy round and not a live round.
He then handed the gun to Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Baldwin began to practice his cross-draw. During that action of practicing the cross-draw, the gun went off.”
A search warrant stated that Halls announced the weapon was a “cold gun” and was safe to use.
Halls pleaded no-contest to petty misdemeanor negligent use of a deadly weapon, and as part of the plea he had to take a firearms safety course within 60 days, pay a $500 fine, and to not possess or consume alcohol or drugs without prescription.
The judge also said he had to complete 24 hours of community service, and was ordered to take responsibility for his actions or inactions related to the charges.
Torraco concluded:
“He’s happy to cooperate either with his co-defendants or the state for any of his insight or testimony that might be needed as the case moves on to fruition.
I just want to emphasize to the court that Mr. Halls is in a lot of pain and a lot of trauma. He was three feet from Ms. Hutchins when the firearm went off. No one expected this.”
