Judge to weigh request to dismiss Alec Baldwin shooting case for damage to evidence during testing
SANTA FE, NM — A judge in New Mexico plans to rule Friday on a request to dismiss the sole charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cameraman. The judge fears the FBI damaged the firearm during forensic testing before defense attorneys could examine it.
Alec Baldwin’s lawyers have asked Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer to dismiss the case against Baldwin ahead of what would be a high-profile trial set to begin in July.
Baldwin’s legal team has asked that, if the trial goes ahead, the judge at least bar the prosecution from presenting an analysis of the weapon using replacement parts by a firearms expert. They say investigators may have destroyed exonerating evidence while testing whether the weapon could go off accidentally without a trigger pull.
During a rehearsal on the film set on October 21, 2021, Baldwin pointed the gun Halyna Hutchins when it went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza, who survived.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.
Sheriff’s investigators initially sent the revolver to the FBI for routine testing, but when an FBI analyst heard Baldwin say in an ABC TV interview that he never pulled the trigger, the agency told local authorities that they had mistakenly failed a discharge test could do, even though this could cause damage. the rifle.
Told by a team of investigators to go ahead, the FBI tested the revolver by hitting it from different angles with a raw hammer. One of those blows broke the weapon’s firing and safety mechanisms.
âThey understood that this was potentially exculpatory evidence and they destroyed it anyway,â Baldwin attorney John Bash said during a virtual hearing Monday. âIt is outrageous and demands dismissal.â
Prosecutors said it was “unfortunate” that the gun broke down, but it was not destroyed and the parts are still available. They say Baldwin’s attorneys still have the opportunity to defend their client and question the evidence against him.
Baldwin’s attorneys say authorities proceeded with destructive testing of the weapon without bothering to disassemble it and photograph the parts first, thereby eliminating their most critical evidence in the case. They noted damage to the upper notch of the revolver’s hammer and urged the judge to bar a jury from viewing an analysis of the reconstructed gun.
Several hours of testimony about the gun and forensic testing during online hearings served as a dress rehearsal for Baldwinâs potential trial. Baldwinâs attorneys conducted lengthy and in-depth cross-examinations of the lead detective, an FBI forensic firearms examiner, and the prosecutionâs independent weapons expert, Lucien Haag.
Special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson told the court Monday that the defense has sufficient gun evidence to work with at trial.
She added that all available evidence, from witness statements to video footage of Baldwin shooting the revolver, shows that the gun was in good condition on the day of the shooting and that police had no reason to believe that its operation could provide exculpatory evidence.
Prosecutors plan to present evidence they say shows the gun âcould not have discharged without pulling the triggerâ and was functioning properly before the shooting.
Armsmaster Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March for her role in the shooting and was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison.
Since filming began in 2021, âRustâ has resumed filming but moved to Montana under an agreement with Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, that saw him become executive producer. The completed film has not yet been released to the public.