Alec Baldwin attorneys argue damage to gun during testing was unacceptable destruction of evidence
SANTA FE, N.M. — SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Alec Baldwin’s Defense attorneys argued Monday that damage done during FBI testing to a revolver that killed a cameraman on the set of the Western ‘Rust’ has deprived them of the opportunity to mount a proper defense during the upcoming lawsuit against the actor, asking a New Mexico judge to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge against him.
“They understood that this was potentially exculpatory evidence and they destroyed it anyway,” Baldwin attorney John Bash said during a virtual hearing. “It is outrageous and requires resignation.”
Prosecutors argued that the weapon that broke into pieces during testing was “unfortunate,” but that Baldwin’s team still has sufficient evidence for a defense and has not met their burden because the case was dismissed.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she expects to rule on the motion to dismiss on Friday.
During the fatal rehearsal on October 21, 2021, Baldwin pointed the gun at Halyna Hutchins at a ranch with movie sets when it went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza, who survived.
Sheriff’s investigators initially sent the revolver to the FBI only for DNA testing, but when an FBI analyst heard Baldwin say in an ABC TV interview in December that he never pulled the trigger, the agency told local authorities that they could accidentally perform a discharge test.
Told to go ahead, the FBI tested the revolver by hitting it from different angles with a rawhide hammer. One of those blows caused the weapon to break into three pieces.
The FBI had made police and prosecutors aware that the test could wreak havoc on the weapon, which had not been tested by the defense, but authorities went ahead with the test without bothering to disassemble the weapon and first remove the parts to shoot, which eliminated the weapon. their most critical evidence in the case, Baldwin’s lawyers argued.
“We can never use our own expert to examine that firearm,” Bash said.
The prosecution argued that the weapon was not destroyed, as the defense said.
“The parts are still available,” said Special Prosecutor Erlinda Johnson. “The fact that this weapon was unfortunately damaged does not deprive the suspect of the opportunity to question the evidence.”
But Baldwin’s lawyers said damage to the revolver’s hammer tip made key tests impossible.
They argued that if Marlowe Sommer refused to dismiss the case, she should at least not allow the technical weapons analysis to be presented at trial.
Baldwin’s lawyers gave lengthy, penetrating cross-examinations to the lead detective, an FBI forensic firearms examiner and the prosecution’s independent weapons expert. This was likely a dress rehearsal for the high-profile trial, at which Baldwin, who did not attend the online hearing, will appear in person.
The special prosecutors leading the case argued that these cross-examinations showed that the defense had sufficient gun evidence to work with at trial.
“They have other reasonable means available to make their point,” Johnson said.
She added that all available evidence, from witness statements to video footage of Baldwin firing the gun in film footage, showed that the gun was in good condition on the day of the shooting and that police had no reason to believe that the its internal workings could provide evidence exculpation.
Prosecutors plan to present evidence at trial that they say shows the firearm “could not have discharged without pulling the trigger” and that it was working properly before the shooting.
Defense attorneys highlight a previously undisclosed expert analysis that outlines uncertainty about the origin of the markings on the weapon’s firing mechanism.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison.
Master of Arms Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March for her role in the shooting and was also sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Friday has the judge denied prosecutors’ request to use immunity to compel testimony from Gutierrez-Reed at Baldwin’s trial. Her statements to workplace safety investigators and regulators are likely to feature prominently in Baldwin’s trial.
Special prosecutors last year dismissed the charge of involuntary manslaughter to Baldwin and said they were told the gun may have been modified before the shooting and was not functioning properly. But they turned around after receiving a new analysis of the weapon and successfully filed a grand jury indictment.