NO JAIL TIME

‘Rust’ Assistant Director Gets Probation for Fatal Shooting

David Halls pleaded no contest on Friday to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.

David Halls was sentenced to six months probation on Friday after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon stemming from his role in the shooting death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Halls, an assistant director who was the film’s safety coordinator, is the first person to be sentenced in the fallout of Hutchins’ death. He’ll face no jail time and his probation won't be supervised. He’s expected to testify in May as prosecutors purse involuntary manslaughter charges against the film’s producer and star Alec Baldwin, and its armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed. Both face up to 18 months in prison if convicted. Prosecutors allege that Gutierrez Reed loaded a gun with live rounds that Baldwin ultimately used to kill Hutchins. Gutierrez Reed has said she thought she was loading “dummy rounds,” while Baldwin maintains he never pulled the trigger.