Alec Baldwin is formally charged with accidental manslaughter in New Mexico

Alec Baldwin, photographed outside his home on Tuesday in New York. DAVID DEE DELGADO (REUTERS)

Alec Baldwin has been officially charged with accidental manslaughter.

As planned, the Santa Fe Prosecutor's Office (New Mexico) presented this Tuesday the formal accusation for the death of the photographer Halyna Hutchins on the filming of the western

which occurred in October 2021. The district attorney, Mary Carmack -Altwies, has filed charges against the producer and protagonist of the film, whom he accuses of not following safety measures in the use of the firearm that accidentally fired a bullet that killed the filmmaker and injured the director of tape.

The production's armory manager, Hanna Gutierrez-Reed, will also face charges that could land her in prison for a year and a half.

The Prosecutor's Office had already advanced in mid-January that it was fine-tuning the last details of his case and that it would be presented to the courts at the end of this month.

In a conference, Carmack-Altwies and the special prosecutor, Andrea Reeb, highlighted the "reckless" and "dangerous" use that some members of the production gave to the firearm, a Colt .45, that Baldwin wielded while rehearsing a scene from the independent tape

Just the presence of a real bullet is a flagrant violation of film industry security protocols.

During the filming, at least five were found.

“On the day of the incident alone, the evidence shows that at least a dozen acts, omissions, or oversights occurred in the short period between lunch and the time of the shooting.

And this does not include the reckless use of the weapon by Baldwin, "says the Prosecutor's Office in the presentation of the lawsuit against the protagonist of

.

“If these people had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today.

It's that simple," Reeb said in mid-September.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed, if found guilty, could face prison terms and a financial fine.

David Halls, the assistant director, the last person on the production to check a firearm on a set before giving it to the talent, has already pleaded guilty.

With this he will avoid going to trial.

He has also announced that he will cooperate with authorities and the district attorney.

Baldwin's defense attorney, Luke Nikas, repudiated the filing of the charges.

“My client had no reason to think there was a real bullet in the gun or on the set.

He trusted the professionals with whom he worked, who assured him that there was no ammunition in the gun, ”said the lawyer in a statement made public a few days ago.

Gutierrez-Reed's legal representative considers the authorities' investigation wanting and has said he will use the trial to "expose the truth" of what happened that day.

Alec Baldwin said in his first interview after the incident that he never pulled the trigger and just pulled the hammer back on the gun.

However, an FBI investigation confirmed the opposite and determined that the revolver did go off: this caused the detonation.

In the nearly 15 months since the incident, several lawsuits have been filed.

Hutchins' family sued Baldwin for reckless homicide, but the actor reached an agreement with his widower, Matthew Hutchins, for him to drop the lawsuit.

In return, Baldwin named Hutchins executive producer of

, with which he will receive an undisclosed share of the profits once filming on the western resumes.

There is still no date for this to happen, but it is estimated that the trial will make it even more difficult for filming to resume.