The preliminary hearing has been set for Alec Baldwin and the armorer charged in the 2021 shooting that left a cinematographer dead and director wounded on a movie set outside Santa Fe.
First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer set the two-week hearing for May 3-17 for Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.
The pair were each charged Jan. 31 with involuntary manslaughter in the Oct. 21, 2021, death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42.
Sommer set a March 27 date to hear Baldwin’s motion to disqualify special prosecutor Andrea Reeb.
Baldwin’s attorney has alleged Reeb’s position as a state lawmaker prohibits her under state law from holding any authority in a judicial capacity.
Authorities say Baldwin was rehearsing with a Colt .45 pistol when he discharged a live bullet from the gun, striking Hutchins and the film’s director Joel Souza.
Gutierrez-Reed reportedly loaded the gun with dummy and live rounds, handed it to assistant director Dave Halls who declared the firearm “cold” and gave it to Baldwin.
Halls has pleaded guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon in the case. He faces a suspended sentence and six months of probation.
In Thursday’s hearing, Baldwin’s attorney Alex Spiro said the gun used in the shooting had been “destroyed by the state.”
Spiro added, “That’s obviously an issue and we’ll have to see that firearm or what’s left of it.”
Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman for the First Judicial District Attorney, said the gun had not been destroyed. She said, “the gun is in evidence and is available for the defense to review.”
Brewer said Spiro’s “unexpected statement” may have been a reference to a July FBI report that said damage was done to the “internal components” of the gun during the agency’s functionality testing.
“However, the gun still exists and can be used as evidence,” she said.
