Alec Baldwin still has not handed over cellphone to police despite search warrant: report

The quest for embattled actor Alec Baldwin's cellphone has now gone beyond New Mexico, and it has New York authorities enlisted to try to track down what could be a crucial piece of evidence for the high-profile investigation into the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

According to an affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital:

"Affiant is requesting a warrant for the seizure and search of Alec Baldwins' [sic] cell phone to search for any evidence relating to the death investigation of Halyna Hutchins. Affiant believes there may be evidence on the phone due to individuals using cellular phones during and/or after the commission of crime(s)."

The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department in New York confirmed to Fox News Digital on Friday that a request from the Santa Fe Sheriff's Department had been received for a joint effort between the sheriff's departments.

"The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office has received a request from the Santa Fe, NM authorities requesting assistance in obtaining Alec Baldwin’s phone," Sergeant Paul Spinella told Fox News Digital. "This request has been forwarded to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office to work out the differences in laws between NM and NY. As this is an ongoing investigation, that is all the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office can report at this time."

When we last left off with the Alec Baldwin saga, authorities had issued a search warrant for his phone. Now this was around mid-December. It's been nearly a month later that we're learning the actor is refusing to cooperate with the request.

Baldwin's civil attorney Aaron Dyer says the actor "proactively requested" police get a search warrant for the sake of his family's protection.

It was a request for photos, location data, and text messages on the actor's phone. The search warrant indicates that Baldwin emailed the Rust armorer about what kind of firearm to use during the film's production.

On Oct. 21, Hutchins was killed on the set of a western flick called Rust after a gun Baldwin was holding to set up a shot had fired. In the weeks after the incident, a wrongful death suit was filed by the victim's family.

Since then, questions surrounding the tragedy remain as it was revealed the movie's props crew had been allegedly sloppy, in a situation that apparently allowed live ammo to be confused for blank cartridges.

In a recent roundtable with The Hollywood Reporter, actor Nicolas Cage commented on the situation saying actors and actresses "need to know how to use a gun" and understand procedure.

In a press conference given by the New Mexico prosecutor handling the case, criminal charges for those handling Rust firearms were said to be possible.

The last time the general public heard from Baldwin was when he claimed on ABC News in an interview that he "didn't pull the trigger" in this tragic situation.