Rust director among witnesses listed for Alec Baldwin preliminary hearing

Rust movie director Joel Souza is one of over 40 witnesses that may be called to testify at Alec Baldwin’s preliminary hearing.

A list of 44 people, released by the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office, also included lighting director Serge Svetnoy and script supervisor Mamie Mitchell.

Baldwin is due to make his first appearance in a US court on February 24 over the death of Halyna Hutchins, when he will face two counts of involuntary manslaughter alongside the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed.

He is set to appear at the Santa Fe Magistrates Court at 10am (5pm UK) for his arraignment hearing, though the PA news agency understands the appearance is likely to be via video.

Souza was also injured during the incident on the set in New Mexico in October 2021, but no charges will be filed over the non-fatal shooting.

The hearing to be presided over by Judge Mary Marlowe Summer is expected to see prosecutors lay out some of the case in an effort to move ahead to a trial.

Other witnesses on the DA’s list include several officers from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s department and FBI forensics specialists, as well as members of the film’s production crew.

Armorer mentor Seth Kenney and prop master Sarah Zachry are among those listed.

In a statement of probable cause that was filed along with the charges against Baldwin, the DA alleged the actor had shown “wilful disregard” for the safety of others in the days leading up to the incident.

It added that he had not been present for “mandatory” firearms training – instead undergoing a 30-minute on-set session, during which he was distracted by a phone call to his family.

The statement said that on the day of the shooting, there were “no less than a dozen acts, or omissions of recklessness” on the set in the period prior to the incident.

Last November, a judge dismissed Baldwin’s motion to have a separate civil suit brought by Mitchell dropped.

The suit alleged that Baldwin fired the weapon when the action was not called for in the Western’s script.