Baldwin’s attorneys asked the judge to dismiss charges against the actor because of bullets that were turned over to sheriff’s investigators three months ago. The judge sent jurors home for the day.
During Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial, the actor’s lawyers sought to shift focus away from whether he pulled his gun’s trigger in the accidental shooting that killed a cinematographer on the set of the movie “Rust” and onto another key question: Where did the lethal bullet come from?
Baldwin’s attorneys have repeatedly accused law enforcement officers and prosecutors of bungling the case, including by allegedly hiding evidence that could possibly solve the central mystery surrounding the deadly Oct. 21, 2021, shooting of Halyna Hutchins.
New Mexico First Judicial District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sent the jury home for the day Friday morning after a dramatic hearing in which Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas demanded the case be dismissed, pointing to possible evidence related to the origin of the live ammo.
Baldwin’s attorneys accused the state of misconduct, pointing to a batch of unexamined bullets that a potential witness turned over to sheriff’s investigators months ago.
“This is critical evidence, your honor,” Nikas said.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office received the evidence in question three months ago, but it was never turned over to Baldwin’s defense team, Nikas said. In March, a retired Arizona police officer brought shell casings and bullets to the sheriff’s office, materials the former officer labeled as potential evidence in the “Rust” shooting.
Baldwin was indicted in January on one count of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins’ death. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could spend up to 18 months in prison. The trial began Wednesday.
The hearing featured a demonstration that even Marlowe Sommer called “unusual.” The judge ordered the evidence be brought to the courtroom. Minutes later, a sheriff’s deputy walked through the hushed courtroom with a package and handed it to the judge.
