US prosecutors formally drop charges against Alec Baldwin

The actor was charged in connection with the fatal 2021 shooting of a cameraman on the set of the movie Rust.

New Mexico special prosecutors have dropped charges against actor Alec Baldwin in the shooting death of film director Halyna Hutchins, which legal experts say was a logical conclusion to a flawed prosecution.

The move on Friday followed new evidence about the gun Baldwin was holding when it fired the bullet that killed Hutchins during filming, a person close to prosecutors said.

The information further undermined the prosecution’s case after a series of legal fumbles, forcing them to dismiss the charges ahead of a May 3 hearing, where a judge would decide if there was enough evidence to convict Baldwin and Rust gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez. Reed to trial.

“The case is unconditionally dismissed and the investigation is active and ongoing,” prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis said in an indictment.

A court official said a court hearing at 2:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. GMT) would hear the remaining charges against Gutierrez-Reed, who said she loaded the bullet into the gun and mistook it for a dummy round.

The dismissal came after Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas presented evidence to the prosecution last week in Santa Fe that the reproduction single-action long Colt .45 “Peacemaker” used by Baldwin had been modified with new parts since its manufacture. by Italian gunmaker F.LLI Pietta.

The information compromised the prosecution’s argument that the gun was fully functional and could have fired only if Baldwin recklessly pulled the trigger, the person familiar with the case said.

Special prosecutors said on Thursday they would refile charges against Baldwin once the new evidence was examined, but most legal experts doubted it.

“This very weak case against Baldwin should never have been filed in the first place,” said Ambrosio Rodriguez, a former prosecutor with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office in California.

“I don’t see how they could ever prove their case with this new evidence.”