In a stunning turn, judge throws out case against Alec Baldwin

Santa Fe Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has dismissed actor Alec Baldwin’s case for involuntary manslaughter.

Baldwin’s attorneys filed a last-minute motion to dismiss the case, arguing that they were not given a chance to examine what could be key evidence: a collection of ammunition that was turned in around the time the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was on trial for involuntary manslaughter. Gutierrez-Reed is currently serving an 18-month sentence.

That ammunition got to the heart of Baldwin’s case, where much of the testimony circled around how live ammunition could have gotten onto the set of Rust. The actor was pointing a gun during a rehearsal for the movie in October of 2021 when the firearm went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Judge Sommer agreed that the prosecution should have disclosed details about the additional ammunition to Baldwin’s team. It was enough to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it can’t be brought against Baldwin again.

“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” Sommer said when making her ruling this afternoon. Baldwin and his family broke down in tears in the courtroom. He’d been supported by his wife and siblings since testimony began on Wednesday.

The evidence that ended the case

Around the time of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's trial, a man named Troy Teske turned in a collection of bullets to the Sheriff's Office in Santa Fe. He said at the time that they were from the same batch as the live ammunition used on the set of Rust. (Prosecutor Kari Morrissey said Teske was a good friend of Gutierrez-Reed’s father, a well-known armorer named Thell Reed.) The bullets he brought were filed under a different case number, and Morrissey said that she believed those bullets were not the same as the fatal bullet that killed Hutchins.

Morrissey later went onto the witness stand herself, admitting that she didn’t think that evidence was relevant to Baldwin's trial.

However, Baldwin’s legal team saw a cover-up: potential evidence that could have helped Baldwin’s case was never shared with them.

Judge Sommer agreed. “The state is highly culpable for its failure to provide this discovery to the defendant,” the judge ruled.

Earlier on Friday, the jury was dismissed while the judge considered whether to proceed with the case.

Baldwin had been facing up to 18 months behind bars for involuntary manslaughter.

Catch up on Baldwin's case

• Testimony in Baldwin’s trial started on Wednesday. Prosecutors argued that he flouted safety standards on set, while his defense team contended that others were responsible for ensuring that live ammunition never made it onto the set.
• Baldwin was indicted earlier this year, after earlier charges against him were downgraded and later dropped.
• Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of Rust in New Mexico, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year.
• Halyna Hutchins’ widower, Matthew Hutchins, settled in court with Baldwin and other Rust producers. Hutchins became an executive producer on the Rust film, which continued production and wrapped up filming in Montana last year.
• Halyna Hutchins’ death during a rehearsal for Rust re-opened a debate about whether or not real guns belong on movie sets at all, and drew renewed attention to broader challenges of on-set safety.