New Mexico
Alec Baldwin's manslaughter trial set to begin in New Mexico
Nearly three years after the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico film set of “Rust,” actor Alec Baldwin is set to stand trial.
Baldwin is charged with involuntary manslaughter for his role in the deadly incident that also injured the film’s director, Joel Souza.
Jury selection for Baldwin’s criminal trial begins Tuesday. It’s unclear if the actor will take the stand to testify.
How did we get here?
Baldwin was rehearsing with a prop gun for a scene on Oct. 21, 2021, at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has maintained in multiple interviews that he did not pull the trigger and that the gun misfired a bullet. Baldwin told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he was taking direction from Hutchins and pulled the hammer back as far as he could without cocking it. But in 2022, results from FBI testing of the .45-caliber Colt prop revolver stated that the gun would not have gone off without the trigger having been pulled.
Just last month, Baldwin’s attorneys asked the judge to throw out the case, saying the firearm was badly damaged during forensic testing at the FBI lab, but the motion was denied.
Twists and turns
Baldwin was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter and a firearm enhancement charge. But the firearm enhancement charge was eventually dropped. It reduced his potential prison sentence by five years.
In March 2023, special prosecutor Andrea Reed stepped down after it was determined that she could not oversee the case because, as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, she was disqualified under state law. But it didn’t stop there. Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies resigned from the case and appointed special prosecutors Kari T. Morrissey and Jason Lewis.
The following month, the charges against Baldwin were dismissed, with the prosecutors citing “new facts in the case.” “We therefore will be dismissing the involuntary manslaughter charges against Mr. Baldwin to conduct further investigation,” prosecutors said in a statement at the time. “This decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled.”
Over the course of the next several months, Morrissey and Lewis continued to examine evidence and interview witnesses. In October 2023, two sources told NBC News that Baldwin and the special prosecutors had discussed taking a plea deal but that it was rescinded, and that the prosecutors intended to bring Baldwin’s case before a grand jury. Three months later, Baldwin was indicted by a New Mexico grand jury on one count of involuntary manslaughter.
Baldwin’s attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in response: “We look forward to our day in court.”
Following the actor’s indictment in January, SAG-AFTRA, the union representing over 150,000 actors, issued a statement slamming the prosecutors’ decision to re-charge him.
The armorer sentenced to jail
At the time of Baldwin’s initial charges, the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for overseeing the weapons on set, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. She was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in April and is currently serving an 18-month jail sentence.
Gutierrez-Reed was called upon to testify in Baldwin’s upcoming trial but she asserted her Fifth Amendment right not to answer any questions pertaining to Baldwin during her pretrial interview in May. In June, the judge ruled that Gutierrez-Reed would not have to testify.
Meanwhile, Dave Halls, the assistant director on set who pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation, is expected to take the stand. In interviews, Baldwin maintained that Halls declared the gun “cold,” meaning it had no live ammunition before it was handed to Baldwin.
But the prosecutors accused Baldwin of offering contradictory versions of events to law enforcement and in the media about whether he pulled the trigger and whether he was taking direction from Hutchins.
“In sum, every time Mr. Baldwin spoke, a different version of events emerged from his mouth,” said a court filing this spring from the special prosecutors.
Baldwin’s trial is expected to last about two weeks.
Leapfrog released its 2026 spring hospital safety grades.
Grades are assigned based on overall performance, including patient safety.
The Leapfrog Group’s goal is to publicly report patient safety and quality information for the benefit of consumers, purchasers, and referring physicians as they make decisions about where to seek care and where to direct patients,” the company stated on its website.
Here’s how your local hospitals performed.
MountainView Regional Medical Center – A
Leapfrog gave MountainView an “A.”
“Being the only hospital in Doña Ana County to earn an ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group speaks to the high standards our team sets – and meets – every day,” said MountainView CEO Patrick Shannon. “This achievement reflects the dedication of our physicians, nurses, and employees to deliver the safest care possible for our community.”
“An ‘A’ Grade is a strong sign that MountainView is deeply committed to protecting patients from harm,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We commend the leadership, Board, clinicians, staff and volunteers for the role each played in earning this distinction.”
The hospital performed better than average in several areas including low infection rates, addressing safety problems, and ICU care. The hospital received below average performances ratings in surgical site infections post colon surgery, communication about medicine and discharge, communication with doctors and nurses and nursing and bedside care for patients.
Memorial Medical Center – B
Memorial Medical Center received a “B” grade from Leapfrog.
The hospital performed well in effective leadership, reduction and prevention of infections and addressing safety problems.
The hospital received below average ratings for kidney injury after surgery, serious breathing problems, harmful events, communication about medicine and discharge, and communication with doctors and nurses.
Not rated by Leapfrog were Three Crosses Regional Hospital.
Nearby top rated hospitals
Leapfrog gave an A to William Beaumont Army Medical Center and Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso. Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso received a B.
How did other New Mexico hospitals perform?
A recipients were:
- CHRISTUS Southern New Mexico in Alamogordo
B recipients were:
- Lovelace Women’s Hospital in Albuquerque
C recipients were:
- Carlsbad Medical Center in Carlsbad
- CHRISTUS St. Vincent in Santa FE
- Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in Roswell
- Lovelace Medical Center-Downtown in Albuquerque
- Lovelace Regional Hospital in Roswell
- Lovelace Westside Hospital in Albuquerque
- University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque
D recipients were:
- San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington
- UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center in Rio Rancho
Explore the full survey results at https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/.
Jessica Onsurez is editor of the Las Cruces Sun-News. Reach her by email at jonsurez@usatodayco.com.
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) — The Social Security Office released the most popular baby names for 2025 on Thursday. And here in New Mexico, we saw some familiar names top the charts once again.
Coming in at No. 1 for girls is Mia, and as for the boys, Noah ranks No. 1. That’s no change from 2024 when Mia and Noah also led the pack, both coming in at No 1. For 2025, there were a total of 66 babies named Mia and 115 babies named Noah, while in 2024, there were 81 Mias and 105 Noahs.
What do the names mean? Online sources list a few different interpretations for Mia, but one common association is with the Italian word “mia,” which means “mine.” As for Noah, the name is most commonly associated with the prominent bible figure. It’s thought to mean “rest,” or “comfort.”
Here’s a look at some of the other top baby names in New Mexico for 2025.
- Girls:
- Olivia (65 total)
- Sophia (65 total)
- Sofia (60 total)
- Camila (59 total)
- Eliana (57 total)
- Isabella (56 total)
- Amelia (53 total)
- Aria (45 total)
- Aurora (45 total)
- Boys:
- Liam (109 total)
- Mateo (99 total)
- Elijah (76 total)
- Santiago (70 total)
- Sebastian (69 total)
- Ezra (67 total)
- Elias (66 total)
- Ezekiel (66 total)
- Levi (69 total)
Nationally, Olivia and Liam are the most popular baby names, and have been for the past seven years, according to the Social Security Administration. As for the fastest-rising names, Klarity jumped nearly 1,400 spots on the girls’ list, and Kasai jumped 1,108 for boy names.
Other names rising in popularity for boys include Atlas, Adriel, Emiliano, Arthur, and Archer. On the girls’ list, Ailany, Sienna, Amara, and Georgia are becoming more popular.
You can find the full list by state online.
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