How the prosecution in Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' trial fell apart
By Daniel Arkin
In a scene reminiscent of a Hollywood legal thriller, Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial came to a sudden and dramatic conclusion on Friday. A judge dismissed the case with prejudice, ending a legal saga that had cast a shadow over the 66-year-old actor’s career and sparked questions about the future of gun safety on film sets.
**How the Prosecution's Case Fell Apart**
But how did the prosecution’s case unravel so quickly? NBC News closely followed the brief trial and highlighted key moments that led to its downfall.
**Baldwin’s Team Accuses the Prosecution of Concealing Evidence**
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Baldwin faced charges of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins, a 42-year-old cinematographer who was fatally shot on the set of the Western film "Rust" in 2021. Baldwin, who held the revolver when it discharged, pleaded not guilty, insisting he believed the gun was loaded with blanks, not live rounds.
The pivotal issue that led to the collapse of the prosecution’s case emerged on the trial’s second day. Baldwin’s lead attorney, Alex Spiro, questioned Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office crime scene technician Marissa Poppell about whether a “good Samaritan” had provided authorities with ammunition earlier in the year.
Poppell confirmed that the sheriff’s office had received Colt .45 rounds from Troy Teske, a former police officer and friend of Thell Reed, the stepfather of "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. This occurred on the same day Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death and sentenced to 18 months in prison (she is appealing).
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Spiro and Baldwin’s other attorneys argued that prosecutors had concealed this evidence, which could have been linked to the fatal shooting. They contended that they should have had the opportunity to determine the significance of the ammunition provided by Teske.
**Judge's Ruling and Case Dismissal**
Prosecutors denied hiding evidence or its connection to the case, but Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ultimately sided with Baldwin’s defense. She spent hours on Friday listening to witnesses and considering the motion to dismiss.
“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,” Sommer stated. “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.”
“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” she added. “The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy.” Sommer dismissed the case with prejudice, preventing it from being refiled.
Baldwin sobbed, burying his face in his hands as Sommer announced her decision. He had faced the possibility of an 18-month prison sentence if convicted.
Kari Morrissey, one of the lead prosecutors, expressed respect for the court’s decision but maintained that there was “absolutely no evidence that any of that ammunition is related to the incident involving” Hutchins. She insisted, “There is no reason to believe that the evidence that we discussed in court today was related to the set of ‘Rust.’ It never left the state of Arizona.”
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**Early Legal Victory for Baldwin's Team**
Before the trial officially began, Baldwin’s team scored an early legal victory when Judge Sommer ruled that Baldwin’s role as a co-producer of “Rust” was irrelevant to his involuntary manslaughter trial.
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