Alec Baldwin’s Rust shooting trial dismissed after lawyers say evidence was withheld | Rust film set shooting

One week into Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial, a New Mexico judge has dismissed the case against the actor and found that the state improperly withheld evidence.

In dramatic proceedings on Friday, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled in favor of the defense and agreed that the charges against Baldwin should be dropped with prejudice, finding that the state had concealed evidence that would have been favorable to the actor.

“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” Sommer said.

The news was met with relief from Baldwin, who hugged his attorneys, and his wife, who could be seen crying as the judge issued her ruling.

The evidence in question was live rounds of ammunition turned over to New Mexico police in March, following Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction. That evidence suggested the live ammunition that made its way on to the set came from the prop supplier, rather than the film’s armorer, Baldwin’s attorney Alex Spiro said.

A witness confirmed to the judge on Friday afternoon that a special prosecutor in the case, Kari Morrissey, was directly involved in the decision to file the evidence in an entirely different case file separate from the other Rust materials.

The development in hearings Friday brings to a sudden end, at least temporarily, the ongoing criminal case against Baldwin over death of Halyna Hutchins on the Rust movie set. The 42-year-old cinematographer died after a gun Baldwin was holding during rehearsals fired a single live round of ammunition. Prosecutors have long said evidence shows that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March, was the source of the live round.

The defense brought forward evidence during the trial that they said the state had “buried” regarding the live ammunition and where it originated, and on Friday asked the judge to dismiss the case.

A report of the interview was not included with the other Rust evidence nor shared with the lawyer of Gutierrez-Reed, Spiro said. Testimony from Alexandria Hancock, with the Santa Fe county sheriff’s office, revealed that she and other officials made the decision to file it separately from the other Rust evidence in an entirely different case file.

Morrissey earlier in the day said she had never before seen the report about the ammunition brought to the sheriff’s office. But as the judge questioned Hancock, the corporal said that Morrissey took part in the decision to keep the evidence separate from the Rust case – which elicited gasps in the courtroom.

Luke Nikas, one of Baldwin’s attorneys, said the report was relevant to the entire case and relevant to the credibility of witnesses who testified in the trial.

“If this evidence wasn’t as important as we say it is, they would have turned it over,” Nikas said.

In the morning, Morrissey had said the state had not violated its obligations and that the defense was aware of the evidence brought forward.

“This is a wild goose chase,” she said. “This has no evidentiary value whatsoever.”