The case against Alec Baldwin in the 'Rust' trial crumbled as the prosecution faced significant challenges."
Had he been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the tragic 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, the actor faced a potential sentence of up to 18 months in prison."
In a plot twist reminiscent of a Hollywood legal thriller, Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial ended abruptly and dramatically on Friday when a judge dismissed the case with prejudice, marking the conclusion of a legal saga that cast a shadow over the 66-year-old actor's career and raised serious questions about safety protocols on movie sets involving firearms.
But how did the prosecution's case unravel so swiftly? NBC News closely followed every moment of the truncated trial, documenting the critical developments.
Baldwin, charged with involuntary manslaughter in the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film "Rust" in 2021, pleaded not guilty, maintaining he believed the prop gun he handled was loaded with blanks, not live ammunition.
The pivotal moment leading to the collapse of the prosecution's case occurred on Thursday, the trial's second day. Alec Spiro, Baldwin's lead attorney, questioned Marissa Poppell, a crime scene technician with the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, about the discovery of ammunition earlier in the year by a "good Samaritan."
Under oath, Poppell confirmed that Troy Teske, a former police officer and friend of Thell Reed, stepfather of "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, had turned over Colt .45 rounds to the sheriff's office. Teske reportedly delivered these rounds on the same day Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins' death and sentenced to 18 months in prison (currently under appeal).
Baldwin's defense team swiftly seized on this revelation, arguing that prosecutors had withheld crucial evidence related to ammunition potentially linked to the fatal shooting. They petitioned the judge to dismiss the case, asserting they should have had the opportunity to assess the significance of Teske's ammunition themselves.
The prosecution contended that the disputed ammunition was not pertinent to the case and had not been concealed from the defense.
Following hours of deliberation on Friday, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sided with Baldwin's defense team: "The belated disclosure of this evidence during the trial has hindered the effective use of evidence to such an extent that it has compromised the fundamental fairness of the proceedings," she declared from the bench. "While this conduct may not amount to bad faith, it certainly borders on it."
"There is no remedy for this injustice," she continued. "Dismissing the case is the appropriate sanction." (Sommer dismissed the case with prejudice, barring its reopening.)
Baldwin reacted emotionally to the judge's decision, visibly distraught as he heard the verdict. A conviction could have resulted in an 18-month prison sentence.
In response to the dismissal, Kari Morrissey, one of the lead prosecutors, acknowledged the court's ruling while maintaining there was "absolutely no evidence" linking the discovered ammunition to the "Rust" set incident involving Hutchins. "The evidence in question never left Arizona," she asserted.
Even before the sudden end to the "Rust" trial, there were other dramatic turning points.
Baldwin's legal team secured an early victory when Judge Sommer ruled, the day before the trial began, that Baldwin's role as a co-producer of "Rust" was not relevant to his involuntary manslaughter trial.
.jpeg)
Sommer's ruling struck a blow to a crucial aspect of the prosecutors' strategy. They intended to argue that Baldwin's role as co-producer bestowed upon him specific responsibilities on the set, including October 21, 2021, the day Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot inside a church set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe County.
"I'm finding it challenging to accept the state's position that they wish to demonstrate that, as a producer, he failed to adhere to protocols, and therefore, as an actor, Mr. Baldwin committed these errors resulting in Ms. Hutchins' death because he permitted these circumstances," Sommer remarked during a pretrial hearing on Monday.
"I am excluding evidence regarding his status as a producer," she declared.
In their opening statements, contrasting portrayals of Baldwin emerged.
In his 44-year acting career, Baldwin has portrayed both villains and heroes. During opening statements on Wednesday, attorneys from both sides of the "Rust" case presented Baldwin to the jury with starkly contrasting portrayals.
Spiro, representing Baldwin, described Hutchins’ death as an "unspeakable tragedy" while asserting that Baldwin had not committed a crime.
"He was an actor, performing," Spiro stated.
Spiro contended that Baldwin should not be charged with involuntary manslaughter because prop guns are typically unloaded and that Baldwin was adhering to industry standards by firing blanks from a real gun.
"I don’t need to elaborate further because you’ve all seen gunfights in movies," Spiro added. (Baldwin stars in "Rust" as a fictional outlaw named Harland Rust. The film was completed after the fatal incident but has yet to be released.)
Special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, in her own opening statement, accused Baldwin of bypassing safety protocols and negligently handling the firearm that resulted in Hutchins’ death, describing her as "a vibrant 42-year-old rising star." She argued that Baldwin acted recklessly.
"The evidence will demonstrate that the defendant, Alexander Baldwin, a person who pretended with a real gun and violated fundamental firearm safety rules," Ocampo Johnson stated. Ocampo Johnson resigned suddenly from the case on Friday, just prior to its dismissal.
The initial witness to testify on Wednesday was Nicholas Lefleur, the first law enforcement officer to reach Bonanza Creek Ranch following the incident. Lefleur, then a deputy with the Sante Fe County sheriff’s office, wore a body camera capturing critical moments.
The footage depicted frantic efforts by first responders inside the church on the film set immediately after the firearm discharged. In the video, a medic is heard asking Hutchins about her ability to open her eyes as she is carried out on a stretcher and placed into an ambulance.
These poignant scenes underscored the suddenness of the shooting, which reverberated profoundly through the entertainment industry and beyond.
