SANTE FE, N.M. – A Santa Fe judge Friday dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin for the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” after ruling that the prosecution concealed evidence from his legal team.
Baldwin cupped his face in his hands and wept as Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the charge cannot be brought against the actor again.
“The state’s willful withholding of this information was intentional and deliberate,” Sommer said. “If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly comes so near to bad faith as to show signs of scorching prejudice.”
The judge added: “There is no way for the court to right this wrong.”
FATAL TIMELINE IN ALEC BALDWIN ‘RUST’ SHOOTING THAT LED TO ACTORS INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE
Alec Baldwin and wife, Hilaria, embrace after judge dismisses involuntary manslaughter charge. (Getty Images)
The third full day of the trial in the First Judicial District Court opened with defense attorney Luke Nikas accusing the state of withholding evidence that prop distributor Seth Kenney was the source of the live ammunition.
The move prompted Santa Fe Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer to send the jury home so she could hold an 11th hour hearing, which led to lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey calling herself as a witness.
“I decided not to take any steps to collect this ammunition because it was in Arizona, had never come to New Mexico and didn’t match the live rounds on the set of ‘Rust,'” Morrissey testified.
Alec Baldwin attends his manslaughter trial for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of the Western movie “Rust”, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S., July 11, 2024. (REUTERS/Ramsay de Give/Pool)
The defense team argued investigators and prosecutors concealed evidence related to the source of ammunition linked to the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust” in 2021.
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed was convicted of loading a live round into a revolver, which Baldwin fired, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
During her trial on March 6, retired police officer Troy Teske, a family friend of Gutierrez Reed’s father, walked into the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and delivered a collection of rounds to crime scene technician Marissa Poppell.
He said the rounds came from Kenney and matched the bullet that killed Hutchins.
Poppell admitted Friday at the hearing that she didn’t inventory the evidence from Teske under the “Rust” case, but instead under a different case number. The defense also didn’t receive a supplemental report on the new evidence.
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Corporal Alexendria Hancock, the lead investigator on the case admitted this decision was made in consultation with prosecutors and her supervisors.
“Okay. So you, you all had discussions about what to do with what he dropped off?” asked Judge Marlowe Sommer.
“Yes,” she replied.
“And you all agreed to put it in the separate file?” the judge pressed. “Yes,” she answered. The evidence was also not stored with the other evidence for the case, she said.
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Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer listens to prosecutor Kari Morrissey speak during actor Alec Baldwin’s hearing in Santa Fe County District Court, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. Baldwin is facing a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a cinematographer. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)
Defense attorneys appeared to have learned about the ammunition Teske turned over from body camera footage that captured Teske walking into the sheriff’s office and telling Poppell that he had critical evidence and offered to give a statement.
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Morrissey told the court earlier in the day that the first time she saw the supplemental report, which was allegedly withheld from the defense, was that morning.
The stunning blow to the prosecution team, which had been working on the case for more than three years, arrived after the state had called only seven witnesses.