In January, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies filed involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. Today, just weeks before a preliminary hearing was scheduled to take place, the charges against both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were dropped.

Charges against Alec Baldwin have been dropped in the fatal on-set “Rust” shooting, according to sources familiar with the matter…

“We are pleased with the decision to dismiss the case against Alec Baldwin and we encourage a proper investigation into the facts and circumstances of this tragic accident,” Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, the attorneys for Baldwin, said in a statement.

Deadline points out these charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning that even though they are dropped for now charges against either Baldwin, Gutierrez-Reed or both could be brought again if it’s determined later they are warranted. For now, lawyers for Gutierrez-Reed are also praising the decision to drop charges.

“The new special prosecutor team has taken a very diligent and thorough approach to the entire investigation, which we welcome and have always welcomed,” said Reed’s lawyers Jason Bowles and Todd Bulllion today. “They are seeking the truth and we are also. The truth about what happened will come out and the questions that we have long sought answers for will be answered. We fully expect at the end of this process that Hannah will also be exonerated.”

At the present, everyone involved seems to be saying they have no idea how a live round wound up in this gun on set. I have no idea if some specific answer to that question can still be uncovered but frankly, even if it is, I don’t see how the armorer could not be at least partly responsible if a gun with a live round to an actor. It was literally her job to make sure nothing like that could happen.

Gutierrez-Reed didn’t hand the gun to Baldwin. That was done by first assistant director David Halls who pleaded guilt to one charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. Halls was sentenced to six months probation last month.

My take on this is that while Baldwin claims he didn’t pull the trigger, he certainly did pull back the hammer with the trigger already pulled. Steven Gutowski explained how this worked nearly a year ago with a similar style of revolver.

Here's a quick overview of what the new videos tell us about the Alec Baldwin shooting. pic.twitter.com/Oc9Xj3IlR4

— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) April 27, 2022

While that did lead directly to Hutchins’ death, it wasn’t Baldwin’s primary responsibility to make sure the gun was unloaded. That was part of the armorer’s job.

It’s a bit more complicated because in addition to being the lead actor he was also a producer on the film. And that means he did have some overall responsibility for how things were going. There have been reports that people on the set were not impressed with the job Gutierrez-Reed was doing. I have no idea if Baldwin had heard those concerns but if he had then he might be responsible for not stepping in and replacing her.

It sounds like this case has been falling apart since the charges were filed so maybe it’s better to pull back a bit and reconsider.

Almost from the jump after Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were formally charged, the DA hit several self-created potholes, including a lost February 24 attempt to block Gutierrez-Reed’s request to possess a gun in her home for self-defense. More embarrassingly for the DA, there also was a dismissal of the firearm enhancement charge from the case in late February and the stinging loss of previous special prosecutor and GOP state lawmaker Andrea Reeb in mid-March. Then, almost certain to lose an attempt to be co-counsel with a new special prosecutor, Carmack-Altwies finally removed herself from the case altogether on March 29. At the same time, the DA brought well-respected New Mexico lawyers Morrissey and Lewis on board as special prosecutors.

A civil case against Baldwin and the film was settled last October.

Rust Movie Productions LLC and its Rust star and producer Alec Baldwin have reached a settlement with the estate of slain cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. As part of the peace, her husband Matthew Hutchins will executive produce Rust, which will return to production in January 2023 with the original cast…

“I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin). “All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.”

Baldwin was set to return to production of the film this week and while it seems a bit odd that anyone would want to return after what happened, Baldwin is obviously doing this with the blessing of Hutchins’ husband.