‘Rust’ set manager convicted in Alec Baldwin case
Dave Halls, the first assistant director on the set of Rust, was sentenced on Friday, March 31st, amid the ongoing case surrounding the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, marking the first conviction for the 2021 incident involving actor Alec Baldwin.
A New Mexico judge accepted Halls’ plea deal with prosecutors for a “negligent use of a deadly weapon” charge for his involvement in Hutchins’ accidental death on the Western movie set near Santa Fe.
The deal marks a breakthrough following a series of setbacks in the ongoing case since the prosecution filed charges against Baldwin and other crew members who handled the prop gun that killed Hutchins.
District court judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has now sentenced Halls to a six-month suspended sentence with unsupervised probation, a $500 fine, 24 hours of community service and a firearms safety class.
Hutchins was killed on October 21st, 2021, when Baldwin fired a live round from a revolver during rehearsals. As first assistant director, prosecutors said Halls was primarily responsible for set safety on Rust.
“Halls did not check every round in the gun to confirm it was a dummy round and not a live round,” state prosecutor Kari Morrissey announced to the virtual plea hearing. With more than 80 credits to his name, including The Matrix Reloaded and The Crow: Salvation, Halls is the only member of the Rust cast and crew to enter a plea deal.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.