Alec Baldwin's lawyers lost another bid Friday to get his involuntary manslaughter case dismissed. The embattled star is slated to go to trial July 9 for the 2021 accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film 'Rust' in New Mexico. The high-powered attorneys argued that the case should be dropped because Baldwin had no grounds to believe the gun contained a live round. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer rejected the argument at the virtual hearing.
Special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson revealed that boom operator Zac Sneesby was near Baldwin when the gun fired. 'Mr. Sneesby specifically said he saw Mr. Baldwin pull the trigger,' she said of the witness. 'And as you know, the defense position has always been that he didn’t pull the trigger. Well, now there’s an eyewitness.
They plan to argue at trial that the '30 Rock' star displayed 'reckless behavior' on the set, routinely ignored safety protocols – and once fired a blank round at an assistant on the Santa Fe ranch. The temperamental thespian, they said, exercised complete control over the set and often acted boorishly with the film's staffers. The hearing continues Monday.