Baldwin Thanks Supporters After ‘Rust’ Case Dismissed

Actor Alec Baldwin thanked supporters in a brief message on social media Saturday, one day after a judge in New Mexico dismissed an involuntary manslaughter case against him stemming from the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust.”

“There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now. To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family,” Baldwin wrote on Instagram.

Saying prosecutors had failed to turn over evidence to defense attorneys, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case “with prejudice” on Friday, meaning it cannot be refiled. The judge called prosecutors “highly culpable” for failing to share potential evidence with defense attorneys — specifically a collection of lead bullets that had been turned over to sheriff’s investigators in the case three months ago.

Prosecutor Kari Morrissey insisted that the bullets, which were provided by retired Arizona police officer Troy Teske, had no “evidentiary value.” She also noted that Teske provided the bullets only after the conviction of the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, on an involuntary manslaughter charge in March. She said Teske was a friend of Gutierrez-Reed’s stepfather.

Defense attorneys brought up the issue of the bullets in court Friday morning, just days into Baldwin’s trial on the involuntary manslaughter charge. Sommer sent jurors home for the day and opted to hold an evidentiary hearing about the handling of the bullets.

The decision prompted one of the special prosecutors on the case, Erlinda Johnson, to resign from the matter.

Baldwin’s attorney accused prosecutors of concealing the potential evidence, even logging the bullets under a separate case number and failing to disclose that they existed.

Defense attorneys considered the bullets potentially critical to determining how live ammunition wound up in the weapon Baldwin was holding on the New Mexico film set on Oct. 21, 2021. The weapon discharged while Baldwin was helping to set up camera angles for a scene. The bullet killed the 42-year- old Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing stemming from the shooting, which reverberated through the film industry and prompted calls for revamped safety standards on sets, particularly involving weapons.

Baldwin has maintained he did not pull the trigger on the gun, and said he had been told it was “cold” — meaning it did not contain live ammunition.

Gutierrez-Reed, 26, was sentenced in April to 18 months in prison. It was unclear if her conviction might be overturned in light of the evidentiary development in Baldwin’s case, but her attorney said he plans to file a motion early next week to have her case dismissed.

“We are going to be filing on the same basis on discovery violations which have occurred throughout her case and continue to occur,” attorney Jason Bowles told NBC News hours after Baldwin’s dismissal. “Things that I learned today that happened, absolutely shocking.”

Meanwhile, attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Hutchins’ family in a civil suit vs. Baldwin, criticized the judge’s decision on Saturday.

“This dismissal of the criminal case against Alec Baldwin is in no way, shape, or form an exoneration of him,” Allred said Saturday. “The court’s decision is not a decision based on the merits of the criminal case against him. It does not change the fact that Alec Baldwin killed Halyna Hutchins on the set of `Rust.’ It does not change the fact that he fired a loaded gun while pointing it at a human being.”

“… We regret that the judge did not exercise any of the other options available to her, which would have allowed the criminal prosecution to proceed. The dismissal of the criminal case … only strengthens our resolve to pursue justice in the civil case that we have filed against him in New Mexico, and which is currently pending,” she added.

–City News Service