Alec Baldwin American actor. Credit | Getty images
United States – A New Mexico judge released jurors in Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial on Friday in an unexpected move after the actor’s lawyers asked for charges to be dismissed claiming that the police concealed evidence on the source of the live round which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021, as reported by HealthDay.
Allegations
The actor’s lawyers stated on the third day of Baldwin’s trial that the sheriff’s office of Santa Fe had acquired live rounds as evidence in the case, but they were not included in the “Rust” case file and were not mentioned to the defense attorneys.
“This was hidden from us,” Baldwin’s lawyer Alex Spiro told a sheriff’s office crime scene technician under cross examination out of jurors hearing.
The Honorable Mary Marlowe Sommer laid down a schedule for taking evidence on the motion. She did not know when she would make a decision.
Judge Sets Schedule for Evidence
University of New Mexico law professor Joshua Kastenberg, who has been following the case but not involved, said the charge against Baldwin could be dismissed if prosecution did not disclose some evidence to Baldwin’s lawyers or Baldwin’s defence was unaware of them until the trial started.
“A judge could dismiss if there was malfeasance on the part of the sheriff’s office,” Kastenberg said.
He then instructed the jurors to be back on Monday morning, saying it was an uncommon direction. She did not inform the members of the jurors of the reason they were releasing them without hearing any proof.
Jurors Dismissed Until Monday
Speaking to the police, the technician, Marissa Poppel, said that the rounds were not concealed from Baldwin, and she was informed to categorize them together with other information on how they were acquired under a different ‘’Rust’’ number. She challenged Spiro, who stated the Colt.45 ammunition, which was fired from the gun, matched the round that killed Hutchins.
Prosecution Objection
Kari Morrissey, the prosecutor, raised an objection to the claim that the evidence was withheld from Baldwin.
“If you buried it, how did the defense attorneys know to cross-examine you about it yesterday?” asked Morrissey.
The Colt. 45 rounds were taken to the police on 6 March by Troy Teske, a friend of Thell Reed, the stepdad of Hannah Gutierrez, the armorer of the film “Rust,” on the same day that Gutierrez was found guilty of the manslaughter of Hutchins’ death.
Disputes Over Live Rounds Source
Prosecutors claimed that Gutierrez brought the live rounds onto the set, which she refused. Defense attorneys point at props supplier Seth Kenney as the one who provided the live rounds. He has refuted the claim and has not been accused in the matter, as reported by HealthDay.
The district attorneys say that Baldwin was involved in Hutchins’ death because he used the firearm recklessly. Baldwin’s lawyers, on the other hand, claim that the actor was let down by Gutierrez and other people who were supposed to ensure the safety of the cast and crew and that the law enforcement agents were eager to prosecute their client than to identify the source of a live bullet that killed Hutchins.
