A New Mexico judge on Friday dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin after his lawyers alleged police hid evidence of the source of the live round that killed Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.
The dismissal came just days into Baldwin’s trial in Santa Fe, at a court just miles from the Western film set where Ms Hutchins was fatally shot with a revolver Mr Baldwin was using in a scene rehearsal.
It is unclear whether prosecutors will, or can, seek another trial against Baldwin.
It is the second time the case against the actor has been dismissed since the October 2021 shooting.
Mr Baldwin’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the case on Friday morning, arguing prosecutors did not turn over a key piece of evidence – a batch of bullets – to the defence team.
A key aspect of the case has been how live ammunition ended up on the film set and Mr Baldwin’s lawyers have questioned the investigation and mistakes made by authorities who processed the scene.
The motion set off a remarkable set of events with one of the two special prosecutors leading the case resigning, and the judge dismissing the jury so she could hear from multiple witnesses.
The bullets, Mr Baldwin’s lawyer said, could be related to Hutchins’ death but were filed in a different case with a different number.
Prosecutors argued the ammunition was not connected to the case and did not match bullets found on the Rust set.
The evidence came to light during the trial on Thursday when a crime-scene technician said in evidence that a man named Troy Teske, a retired police officer, had turned over live ammunition that could be related to the case.
Mr Teske is friends with the step-father of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armourer who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year. He was working with Seth Kenney, who helped with props on the film set.
