Alec Baldwin Trial: Judge Dismisses 'Rust' Case Due to Withheld Evidence

A New Mexico judge has dismissed Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter case, effectively eliminating the possibility of the actor being prosecuted again in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the Rust movie set in October 2021.

Baldwin, 66, had been facing up to 18 months in prison if convicted in the death of Hutchins, who was killed when a revolver held by Baldwin went off during film production. The gunfire also injured director Joel Souza.

The veteran actor's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the case on Thursday, the trial's second day, alleging that police and prosecutors withheld crucial ammunition evidence that could have helped his defense. Prosecutors insisted that the evidence was unrelated to the case and was not withheld.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer disagreed, granting the defense motion on Friday while dismissing the case with prejudice, a legal term meaning Baldwin can likely never again be prosecuted on the same changes. The actor was seen bursting into tears as the judge read her decision.

"The late discovery of this evidence during trial has impeded the effective use of evidence in such a way that it has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings," Marlowe Sommer said, according to the Associated Press.

"If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly comes so near to bad faith to show signs of scorching," she added.

Marlowe Sommer had dismissed the jury for the day around 2 p.m., saying that she wanted to work through the defense's motion for dismissal.

"We don't know if it's a live ammunition match or not," Baldwin's attorney Luke Nikas told the judge. "But we do know that the state had it, and it's disclosable."

The prosecution and defense returned to the courtroom at 3 p.m. without the jury present to hear testimony from Rust prop supplier Seth Kenney. He is friends with veteran Hollywood armorer Thell Reed, father of Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

Kenney testified that Gutierrez-Reed texted him and asked if she could shoot live ammo out of a prop gun. He claimed he told her it was a bad idea and doing so "always ends in tears." Gutierrez-Reed is serving her 18-month jail sentence for her role in the fatal shooting.

The prosecution has said that the ammo was not connected to the case and was not hidden. Before dismissing the case, the judge said that she wanted to hear testimony from Kenney, as well as Jason Bowles, attorney for Gutierrez-Reed.

Baldwin's lawyers argued that Arizona police officer Troy Teske was a "good Samaritan" and hand-delivered the ammo in question to a crime scene technician after the Gutierrez-Reed trial. Teske is also a friend of Gutierrez-Reed's father.

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey claimed the box of ammo Teske presented was different colors than the bullets used on the movie set and, therefore, irreverent. The defense, however, thought that was not for Morrissey to decide and that the state should have disclosed it to them.

"This is a wild-goose chase that has no evidentiary value whatsoever," Morrissey told the judge Friday. "This is just a man trying to protect his [Reed's] daughter."

Gutierrez-Reed's testimony was delayed and did not take place Friday. Her attorney says she was planning to plead the Fifth Amendment.

Baldwin received support at the trial from his wife, Hilaria, brother Stephen, and sister Beth Keuchler in court this week. Hilaria brought the couple's youngest of seven children, Ilaria, to court on Tuesday—a move denounced by Gloria Allred, attorney for Hutchins' family.

"I know that yesterday, Baldwin brought one of his seven children," Allred told Law & Crime on Wednesday. "I know that he has apparently signed up for a reality show. This is not a reality show. This is a trial for involuntary voluntary manslaughter of a young, talented cinematographer."

The legendary defense attorney called the family display "a cynical and, potentially, a calculated public relations move to make him feel more sympathetic or seem more sympathetic to the jury."

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