SANTE FE, N.M. — In a stunning turn of events, the judge in Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial dismissed the case Friday, agreeing with the actor’s lawyers that prosecutors hid evidence that may have been linked to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western movie “Rust” in 2021.
“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” said 1st Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. “The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy.” The dismissal was with prejudice, meaning the involuntary manslaughter case against the actor cannot be filed again.
Baldwin, 66, sobbed and put his face in his hands as Sommer announced her decision. He then embraced his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, as lawyers and spectators started filing out of the courtroom.
Baldwin could have been sentenced to up to 18 months in prison if the jurors had unanimously agreed he committed the felony. The actor was rehearsing a scene at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe County on Oct. 21, 2021, when the prop revolver he was holding went off, killing Hutchins, 42, and wounding director Joel Souza.
The actor, best known for his role on “30 Rock” and appearances on “Saturday Night Live,” had pleaded not guilty. He claims that he was not aware the revolver contained a live round and that it discharged accidentally after he followed instructions to point it toward Hutchins.
Baldwin’s lawyers asserted that the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office took possession of live rounds of ammunition as evidence but did not record them in the official case file or reveal their existence to the actor’s defense team.
Kari Morrissey, the special prosecutor in the case, insisted the disputed ammunition was not linked to the case or hidden from Baldwin’s lawyers.
Morrissey said after the ruling that she was disappointed by the court’s dismissal and disagreed, but respects the decision.
“I believe the importance of the evidence was misconstrued by the defense attorneys,” Morrissey told reporters outside court.
Asked if she believed she let the Hutchins family down, Morrissey said: “No, we didn’t. We did everything humanly possible to bring justice to Halyna and to her family, and we’re proud of the work that we did.”
The dispute over evidence arose Thursday when Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office crime scene technician Marissa Poppell testified under cross-examination that a “good Samaritan” had come to authorities with ammunition earlier this year.
The Colt .45 rounds were delivered to the sheriff’s office in March by Troy Teske, a former police officer and friend of Thell Reed, the stepfather of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the same day she was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death (She was later sentenced to 18 months behind bars.)
Baldwin’s attorneys asked the judge to dismiss the case in large part because of that revelation, arguing that they should have been told about the Colt .45 rounds — and given the ability to determine for themselves whether the ammunition brought in by Teske was crucial to the case.
The actor and his team had already won a major legal victory this week when Sommer ruled at a pretrial hearing Monday that his role as a co-producer on “Rust” was not relevant to the trial. The move prevented prosecutors from arguing that he bore a special responsibility on the set.
Baldwin is a three-time Emmy winner known for NBC’s “30 Rock” and his record 17 hosting stints on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” He has appeared in films such as “Beetlejuice,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “The Cooler,” the last of which earned him an Oscar nomination.
The road to the trial was paved with twists and turns — including on Friday when fellow co-special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson resigned.
Ocampo Johnson told NBC News in an interview later that she disagreed with the decision to hold the hearing in the first place, after the evidence issue came to light.
“I believed that the right decision would have been a dismissal,” Ocampo Johnson said. She said she believed in the case against Baldwin but that evidence had not been turned over left the judge with no other option.
Baldwin was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter and a firearm enhancement charge, but the latter charge was eventually dropped. The charges were dismissed altogether in April 2023 as prosecutors cited “new facts in the case.” Then, in January, a grand jury indicted him on an involuntary manslaughter charge once again.
Baldwin’s lawyers asked the judge last month to toss the case, arguing that the firearm was badly damaged during forensic testing at an FBI lab. But that motion was denied.
Jason Bowles, the attorney for Gutierrez-Reed, said after Baldwin’s case was dismissed that he will seek freedom for his client.
“Absolutely shocking the pattern of government misconduct in this case and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s case,” Bowles said. “We will be moving for her immediate release.”
Ocampo Johnson, the special prosecutor who resigned, said she did not believe that the evidence was withheld on purpose.
“I don’t think it was intentional. I really do not believe that,” Ocampo Johnson said. “I think it was just something that — it wasn’t turned over, and it should have been.”