Alec Baldwin refutes claims that he is not cooperating in the investigation of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’s death after reports that he will not hand over his cell phone
- Alec Baldwin refuted claims that he isn’t cooperating with police investigating the death of Halyna Hutchins, who was shot dead on the set of ‘Rust’
- Detectives in New Mexico obtained a warrant for the actor’s cellphone on December 16th, but Baldwin has yet to hand it over
- In a January 7th Instagram video, Baldwin said that ‘Any suggestion that I am not complying… search warrants about my phone, that’s bullshit, that’s a lie’
- He said that authorities in New Mexico, where the shooting occurred, are coordinating with police in New York, where Baldwin lives, to obtain the phone
- ‘It’s a process that takes time,’ he said. ”Of course, we are 1,000 percent going to comply with all that. We are perfectly fine with that’
- Baldwin was brandishing a Colt gun during a rehearsal for ‘Rust’ October when it discharged a live round, killing Hutchins
Alec Baldwin insisted Saturday that he was complying with the investigation into the fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins nearly a month after detectives obtained a warrant for his phone, insisting that it is a lengthy ‘process that takes time’ for out-of-state police departments to obtain the device.
‘Any suggestion that I am not complying with requests or orders or demands or search warrants about my phone, that’s bulls**t, that’s a lie,’ the beleaguered actor said in a video message posted on Instagram.
Baldwin, 63, said authorities in New Mexico, where the shooting occurred, are coordinating with authorities of New York, where Baldwin lives, in order to obtain the phone, adding that it was a lengthy process and that ‘someone from another state can’t just say “give me your phone.”‘
‘They can’t just go through your phone and take your photos or your love letters to your wife or what have you,’ he said.
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Alec Baldwin refuted claims that he wasn’t cooperating with authorities in an Instagram video on January 7
A Santa Fe judge approved a search warrant for his phone after a request from Detective Alexandria Hancock, who has been granted access to his texts, call records, contacts, photos, videos, and geolocation data
‘Of course, we are 1,000 percent going to comply with all that. We are perfectly fine with that,’ Baldwin said.
Detectives in New Mexico obtained a warrant for Baldwin’s phone on December 16, as they search for evidence concerning the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust, in which Baldwin was starring.
A lawyer for Baldwin has not responded to Dailymail.com’s requests for comment as to why the actor has not yet handed over his cellphone to authorities.
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney’s Office are ‘actively working’ with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, New York, and Baldwin’s lawyers to get any materials on the phone pertaining to their investigation, according to a press release.
Baldwin lives in Manhattan with his wife, Hilaria, and their six kids. The couple also has a home in Amagansett in the Hamptons.
Hutchins (center), a 42-year-old cinematographer, died after being shot by Baldwin during a rehearsal in New Mexico on October 21
Halyna Hutchins, 42 (left), was fatally shot in October. Pictured: Her husband, Matthew, 48, top right, and their 9-year-old son Andros
In the five-minute-long Instagram video, Baldwin lambasted ‘right-wing rag sheets’ and ‘people who are going to hate,’ noting that the left-leaning New York Daily News had run a front-page story about the death of film giant Sidney Poitier while the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post ran a cover story about authorities in New Mexico working with police on Long Island to get Baldwin’s phone for their investigation, a story that he called ‘lies and bulls**t and nonsense.’
The actor said he aimed to ‘set aside all the hate’ and the ‘January 6th of it all’ in 2022.
He opened the Instagram story with a bizarre tale about a young woman who allegedly handed him a Splenda packet reading: ‘You are 100 percent true. Thanks for the laughs, good sir. Cheers to a new year. Love you’ while he was out at a restaurant with his daughter Carmen, his Hamptons pal David Nugent and Nugent’s daughter.
He called the hand-off of the encouraging packet ‘nothing short of a miracle.’
He opened the Instagram story with a bizarre story about a young woman who allegedly handed him a Splenda packet reading: ‘You are 100 percent true. Thanks for the laughs, good sir. Cheers to a new year. Love you.’
The set of Rust, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside of Santa Fe where the shooting occurred
Alec Baldwin is seen on October 21, after speaking to investigators about the fatal shooting
Baldwin was brandishing a Colt gun during a rehearsal for the low-budget Western being filmed near Santa Fe in October when it discharged a live round, killing Hutchins.
The warrant said the phone could provide evidence, citing various text messages and emails sent to and from Baldwin regarding the film’s production.
Investigators have not filed criminal charges over the tragedy, and have refused to rule out charges against anyone involved, including Baldwin.
Baldwin ran to Think Coffee to grab a cup of java the day after authorities in New Mexico had a search warrant approved, and the outline of his cellphone was visible in his pocket
They are gathering information about the ‘Rust’ production going back even before the start of filming.
Baldwin was both the star and a producer of the western.
In his first major interview since the shooting, Baldwin said in December he had been told the gun contained no live ammunition, and had been instructed by Hutchins to point the gun in her direction as she prepared to film the scene.
Baldwin told ABC he does not feel guilty for Hutchins’ death, adding that he had started cocking the gun when the bullet fired, but did not pull the trigger.
‘The best way, the only way we can honor the death of Halyna Hutchins is to find out the truth. That’s what I’m working towards, insisting on, demanding,’ Baldwin said in his Instagram post. ‘That the organizations involved in this investigation do everything in their power to find out what really happened, that’s all that matters.’
Baldwin’s version of the on-set tragedy
‘I’m just showing. I go, “How ’bout that? Does that work? You see that? Do you see that?'”
‘And then she goes, “Yeah, that’s good.”
‘I let go of the hammer, bang. The gun goes off. Everyone is horrified. They’re shocked. It’s loud. They don’t have their earplugs in.
‘No one was — the gun was supposed to be empty. I was told I was handed an empty gun.
‘If they were cosmetic rounds, nothing with a charge at all, a flash round, nothing.
‘She goes down, I thought to myself, “Did she faint?”
‘The notion that there was a live round in that gun did not dawn on me ’till probably 45 minutes to an hour later.’
He added: ‘Well, she’s laying there and I go, “Did she hit by wadding? Was there a blank?”
‘I never pulled the trigger. No, no, no. You would never do that.
‘The gun was supposed to be empty. I was told I was handed an empty gun.
‘Nobody gave a f*** who you are anymore until this. You see a lot of people with their phones now, in a coffee shop,’ he said, showing them filming him.
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