Prosecutors join prosecutor in Alec Baldwin’s set shooting case

SANTA FE, N.M – A Santa Fe district attorney on Monday resisted efforts to disqualify the special prosecutor for manslaughter against actor Alec Baldwin in the deadly shooting of a cameraman on a New Mexico movie set.

Baldwin’s legal team tried in February to disqualify special prosecutor and Republican Rep. Andrea Reeb from Clovis under constitutional provisions that ensure the separation of powers between different branches of government.

Defense attorneys have argued that Reeb’s roles as state legislature and prosecutor are incompatible and could distort legislative and judicial actions, including state spending on prosecuting Baldwin while he was filming on the set of the western film Rust in 2021.

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies called the objection Monday a “novel theory that finds no support in the statutes or jurisprudence of New Mexico.”

She said the state constitution provides a variety of safeguards against lawmakers interfering with the outcome of pending court cases.

“Any attempt by Ms. Reeb as a legislature to influence the outcome of this trial would be utterly ineffective,” Carmack-Altwies said in a court filing.

Since entering the legislature in January, Reeb has avoided voting on public spending to prosecute Baldwin and film set weapons regulator Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. She was pardoned by a vote in the House of Representatives in February on a proposed state budget that includes $360,000 for special prosecution costs in the deadly film set shooting.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed have pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge in the shooting of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 18 months imprisonment and fines.

Hutchins died shortly after being wounded on October 21, 2021 during rehearsals at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Baldwin pointed a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. A likely preliminary hearing is months away to decide if there is enough evidence to go to court.

Prosecutors say assistant director David Halls, who oversaw security on set, signed an agreement to plead guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon. A judge is scheduled to review approval of the defense agreement later this month.

Law enforcement in Hutchins’ death is currently being assisted by an emergency state grant approved in September 2022 by the State Board of Finance, led by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Reeb is listed as a sponsor or co-sponsor of several criminal justice initiatives, including increased penalties for firearms violations, as lawmakers seek ways to curb rising violent crime. She previously served as a District Attorney for a judicial district in the Eastern Plains of New Mexico.