Alec Baldwin Enters Not Guilty Plea

Actor Alec Baldwin pleaded not guilty Monday to misdemeanor battery for allegedly punching and kicking a photographer in October, officials said.

Baldwin, who was not required to appear at his arraignment at Van Nuys Municipal Court, entered the plea through his lawyer, Charles English, said Mike Qualls, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office. The actor’s trial was scheduled to begin Feb. 26, Qualls said.

Baldwin is accused of hitting freelance photographer Alan Zanger on Oct. 26, the day Baldwin and his wife, actress Kim Basinger, arrived at their Woodland Hills home from Santa Monica Hospital with their newborn daughter.

Baldwin, whose movies include “The Hunt for Red October,” “ allegedly struck Zanger, of Altadena, after finding the paparazzo waiting outside the couple’s home in a pickup truck to photograph the family.

In a related matter, a helicopter pilot charged with reckless flying in Woodland Hills when Baldwin was being arrested also pleaded not guilty at Van Nuys Municipal Court.

Patrick Heidenreich, who was piloting a helicopter for Loom-Up News Service, also was scheduled for trial Feb. 26.

Officials said Heidenreich, of Westwood, faces one charge each of reckless flying and flying too low. Heidenreich is accused of flying the helicopter 150 to 200 feet above the ground, an altitude that combined with other factors would have made it impossible for him to land safely in the tree-lined neighborhood in case of an in-flight emergency, officials said.