Judge dismisses Alec Baldwin's manslaughter case for 'Rust' shooting

SANTA FE

The involuntary manslaughter case against Rust star Alec Baldwin was dismissed by a judge Friday after the actors' defense attorneys raised new questions about how New Mexico law enforcement and prosecutors handled evidence.

The decision ends a nearly three-year ordeal for the 30 Rock and The Hunt for Red October star, which began in October 2021 when he accidentally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins with a fake gun during a rehearsal for the low-budget Western.

Baldwins' attorneys have accused the state of misconduct, pointing to a batch of unexamined bullets that a potential witness turned over to sheriff's investigators months ago. New Mexico 1st Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer appeared furious about the handling of the evidence, which was not turned over to the defense.

Baldwin broke down in tears as the judge explained her reasons for dropping the case.

The court has no way to fix this mistake, Marlowe Sommer said.

Amid intense scrutiny in the high-profile criminal trial, one of the state's two special prosecutors, Erlinda O. Johnson, resigned from the case Friday afternoon.

Special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey, who oversaw the case, told a crowd of reporters outside the courthouse that she respected the judges' decision but disagreed with it, saying there was absolutely no evidence that the ammunition was linked to Rust's shooting.

“I'm disappointed because I believe the weight of the evidence was misinterpreted by the defense attorneys, but I have to respect the court's decision,” Morrissey said.

At the Santa Fe trial, the actor's lawyers had sought to shift the focus away from whether he pulled the trigger of his gun in the accidental shooting that killed a cinematographer on the set of the film Rust and toward another key issue: Where did the fatal bullet come from?

Baldwins' attorneys have repeatedly accused law enforcement and prosecutors of botching the case, including allegedly withholding evidence that could potentially solve the central mystery surrounding the Oct. 21, 2021, shooting.

Marlowe Sommer sent the jury home for the day Friday morning after a dramatic hearing in which Baldwin's attorney, Luke Nikas, demanded the case be dismissed, pointing to possible evidence related to the source of the live ammunition.

“This is crucial evidence, Your Honor,” Nikas said.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office received the evidence in question three months ago, but it was never turned over to Baldwin’s defense team, Nikas said. In March, a retired Arizona police officer brought shell casings and bullets to the sheriff’s office, items the former officer said were potential evidence in Rust’s shooting.

Baldwin was charged in January with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins' death. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could have spent up to 18 months in prison. The trial began Wednesday.

The trial was the culmination of a process that has long been marred by blunders. A previous indictment against Baldwin was dropped after procedural errors, and prosecutors were replaced, ultimately leading to the grand jury indictment this year.

Earlier this week, prosecutors suffered a setback when the judge ruled that the jury could not consider Baldwin's role as a producer on Rust.

Several civil cases related to Rust are still ongoing.

Friday's hearing was marked by a display that even Marlowe Sommer called unusual. The judge ordered the evidence brought into the courtroom. Minutes later, a sheriff's deputy walked through the quiet room with a package and handed it to the judge.

The judge, dressed in a black robe, donned blue latex gloves and opened the sealed envelope containing the evidence with a pair of scissors. Marlowe Sommer then walked to the courtroom well and asked a sheriff's crime scene technician to assemble and inspect the contents of the bag of .45-caliber bullets.

The lead bullets found on the Rust set were housed in Starline brass cases, making them easily identifiable to investigators looking into the shooting, and some of the bullets brought in Friday were also stamped Starline Brass.

Baldwin's team argued that the charges against Baldwin should be dropped, citing rules of evidence that require defense attorneys to be provided with evidence that could be helpful to their case.

Morrissey protested that the bullets produced by retired officer Troy Teske were not used until after gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Morrissey described Teske as a good friend of Gutierrez's father-in-law, Thell Reed, a longtime Hollywood gunsmith and sniper.

The new collection of bullets simply has no evidentiary value, Morrissey insisted.

However, the judge said she was concerned that proper information had not been provided to the defense team, and she canceled the day of jury testimony to hold a hearing on the handling of the bullets provided by Teske.

The issue first arose during testimony by crime scene technician Marissa Poppells on Thursday. Baldwin's other attorney, Alex Spiro, sparked the controversy by claiming a good Samaritan had found evidence that could be useful in the Rust shooting earlier this year.

During his questioning, Spiro accused Santa Fe sheriff's investigators of hiding important evidence. Nikas said Friday that this case was just the latest mistake by prosecutors and investigators.

It is time for this case to be closed, Nikas said.

The fact that they hid [the evidence]the fact that they put it under a separate document number, that they didn't disclose the additional report, that they didn't disclose the bullets. … If it was so irrelevant and had no evidentiary value, it would have been there, Nikas said.

Morrissey called the issue a “wild goose chase.”

Your Honor, there was absolutely no breach of our obligations as prosecutors, Morrissey said.

During Thursday's testimony, Morrissey identified the Good Samaritan as a friend of Gutierrez's father-in-law.

Do you know that Troy Teske is a close friend of Hannah's father? Morrissey asked Poppell during Thursday's testimony, when the jury was present. Do you know that Troy Teske had his own motivations for wanting to help Ms. Gutierrez?

The hearing resumed Friday afternoon with Morrissey calling to the witness stand Seth Kenney, who supplied Rust with ammunition and weapons, including the one used by Baldwin.

Baldwin's lawyers suggested that Kenney was the one who supplied the live ammunition, a claim Kenney denied at trial, as he always has.

Alexandria Hancock, the lead sheriff's detective on the case, later testified that Teske first showed up at the Santa Fe courthouse during Gutierrez's trial. Hancock said Teske didn't wait and instead brought the bullets to the sheriff's office.

She said she contacted Teske several times to obtain a witness statement. “I didn't get a call back,” she said.

The judge questioned Hancock sharply, asking why she didn't go to the sheriff's office to see the bullets Teske had brought. The judge also wanted to know who made the decision to give Teske's bullets a new case number.

Questions have long lingered about the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office's investigation into the shooting.

The investigation lasted more than a year, and sheriff's investigators never conclusively determined the source of the live ammunition on the Rust set, a fact that Baldwins' team made central to their case.

Upon arriving at Bonanza Creek Ranch, about 10 miles south of Santa Fe, police were overwhelmed. More than 100 members of the film crew were busy trying to make sense of the shooting.

The department was understaffed. Timoteo Benavidez, a retired sheriff's lieutenant who was the commander on the scene, told the jury Wednesday that only seven deputies were patrolling the entire county that day.

The few officers who rushed to the set after the 911 call encountered people everywhere, Benavidez said. He also had to calm Gutierrez, who appeared to be having a panic attack, as shown in his lavalier camera video played for the jury.

Benavidez called the New Mexico State Police for backup. But a state police commander refused. I don't remember if they said they didn't have enough. [officers] …or the supervisor simply said no, Benavidez testified.

After the trial ended, a reporter asked Morrissey if she had let the Hutchins family down.

“We have done everything humanly possible to bring justice to Halyna and her family, and we are proud of the work we have done,” she said.