The judge in Alec Baldwin's manslaughter trial dismissed the charges against him after his defense accused prosecutors of hiding evidence from them. Baldwin was prosecuted over the on-set set death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, shot by Baldwin with a gun he didn't realize was loaded. The surprise ending came only three days in; the on-set armorer was already convicted on the same charge.
His lawyers alleged police and prosecutors hid evidence – a batch of bullets – that could have been connected to the shooting on set. … The bullets, Mr Baldwin's lawyer said, could be related to Ms 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 judge ruled, however, that they should have been shared with Mr Baldwin's defence team regardless.
"The state's wilful withholding of this information was intentional and deliberate," Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said from the bench. "There is no way for the court to right this wrong."
It appears to have happened very quickly.
The evidence came to light on Thursday, when a crime-scene technician told the court 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.
The charges against Baldwin reportedly hinge on his alleged "flagrant disregard for gun safety" on the set. Sommer also dismissed the charges with prejudice rather than declaring a mistrial, which means Baldwin cannot be charged again.
