Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case has been dismissed following a motion filed by his defence team accusing the prosecution of concealing ammunition evidence.
After an extraordinary day in court – during which the special prosecutor called herself as a witness – the actor broke down in tears and embraced his lawyers as the judge made the ruling and threw out the case, based on the misconduct of police and prosecutors.
Baldwin, 66, had always denied the charge of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, maintaining he did not pull the gun’s trigger and that others on the set of the western film Rust, in New Mexico, were responsible for safety checks on the weapon.
Hilaria Baldwin was supporting her husband in court. Pic: Ramsay de Give/Pool Photo via AP
He would have faced up to 18 months in prison if he had been convicted.
According to the prosecution, the star had behaved recklessly during a scene rehearsal on the set near Santa Fe, New Mexico, playing “make believe with a real gun” and violating “the cardinal rules of firearm safety”.
But the defence team argued this was not true – he was “an actor, acting” and “committed no crime”.
Now, almost three years on from Ms Hutchins’ death, the case against Baldwin has been dismissed – and Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has said it cannot be filed again.
The breakdown of the case began following the second day of evidence, during which the actor’s defence team learned the Santa Fe sheriff’s office had taken possession of live rounds as potential evidence earlier this year, around the time the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez, was facing her own trial for her role in the shooting. These live rounds were not listed in the Rust investigation file or disclosed to defence lawyers.
Prosecutors said the ammunition was not connected to the case and was not hidden.
Baldwin’s legal team filed their request to dismiss overnight, and the court heard arguments on the motion from both parties without jurors present in the courtroom. When Judge Sommer realised she would need more evidence and to hear from witnesses, she called the jury in only to dismiss them straight away.
The court then heard evidence from witnesses including prop store owner Seth Kenney, who provided blanks and dummy rounds to the set of Rust, Corporal Alexandria Hancock, of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, and Lieutenant Ryan Randall, also from the sheriff’s office.
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