By MATT MCNULTY
New Mexico authorities on Thursday said they were working with police in New York state to obtain Alec Baldwin’s cellphone after the actor failed to give up to despite a search warrant to seize it.
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.
The investigation relates to a probe into the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Western movie ‘Rust.’
Baldwin, 63, could be seen in photos pacing around the outdoor set while talking on the cellphone immediately after the fatal shooting.
A lawyer for Baldwin did not respond to requests for comment as to why the actor has not yet handed over his cellphone to authorities.
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
Baldwin has a home in Amagansett, Suffolk County.
The ’30 Rock’ actor has said he was holding a revolver on the film set when it went off during rehearsal back on October 21, firing a live round that killed Halyna Hutchins.
The actor said in a television interview he never pulled the trigger and denied responsibility for the shooting.
He said he had no idea how a live round got onto the set.
‘The choices regarding any props by me for the film RUST were made weeks before production began,’ he tweeted last month.
‘To suggest that any changes were made “before fatal shooting” is false.’
The New Mexico prosecutor overseeing the case has said some people who handled guns on the set may face criminal charges over Hutchins’ death.
A Santa Fe detective said she sought the search warrant for Baldwin’s phone after she requested it on a voluntary basis and ‘was instructed to acquire a warrant,’ according to an affidavit.
The affidavit said suspects, victims and witnesses ‘often make and/or receive telephone calls and/or messages before, during and/or after the commission of crime(s).’
‘Such information, if it exists, may be material and relevant to this investigation.’
One day after New Mexico police issued a search warrant for his iPhone, Baldwin could be seen dressed in a black T-shirt and black pants as he picked up a cup of java at Think Coffee in his neighborhood earlier in the morning on December 17, while Hilaria, 37, was later spotted with two of their six children.
The outline of Baldwin’s cellphone was visible in his pocket as he walked to and from the coffee shop with disheveled hair and without a coat, despite the weather only being in the high-50s.
