**How the Prosecution in Alec Baldwin's 'Rust' Trial Fell Apart**
The actor faced a potential 18-month prison sentence if convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
By Daniel Arkin.
In a scene worthy of a Hollywood legal thriller, Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial came to a dramatic and unexpected end on Friday when a judge dismissed the case with prejudice. This conclusion marked the end of a legal saga that had loomed over the 66-year-old actor’s career and sparked debates about the future of gun safety on movie sets.
But what led to the rapid unraveling of the prosecution’s case? NBC News closely monitored every moment of the brief trial and documented the pivotal events.
### Baldwin’s Team Accuses Prosecution of Evidence Concealment
Alec Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Halyna Hutchins, a 42-year-old cinematographer who was fatally shot on the set of the Western film "Rust" in 2021 after a prop gun discharged. Baldwin, who was holding the revolver at the time, pleaded not guilty and claimed he believed the weapon was loaded with blanks, not live rounds.
The prosecution's case encountered a significant issue on Thursday, the second day of the trial. Alex Spiro, Baldwin's lead attorney, questioned Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office crime scene technician Marissa Poppell about whether a "good Samaritan" had come forward with ammunition earlier this year.
Under oath, Poppell confirmed that Troy Teske, a former police officer and friend of Thell Reed (the stepfather of "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed), provided the sheriff's office with Colt .45 rounds. Teske reportedly dropped off the rounds on the same day Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins' death and sentenced to 18 months in prison (she is appealing the conviction).
Spiro and Baldwin’s other attorneys seized upon this revelation, arguing that prosecutors had concealed evidence potentially linked to the fatal shooting. The defense requested the judge to dismiss the case, contending that they should have had the opportunity to independently assess the significance of the ammunition provided by Teske.
Prosecutors in the “Rust” case asserted that the disputed ammunition was neither hidden from the defense nor pertinent to the case.
However, after hours of deliberation on Friday, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ultimately ruled in favor of Baldwin’s legal team.
“The late discovery of this evidence during trial has impeded the effective use of evidence in such a way that it has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings,” Sommer stated from the bench. “If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly comes so near to bad faith to show signs of scorching.”
“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” she added. “The sanction of dismissal is the only warranted remedy.” Judge Sommer dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
Baldwin sobbed and buried his face in his hands as Sommer announced her decision. He could have faced an 18-month prison sentence if convicted.
Kari Morrissey, one of the lead prosecutors, told reporters after the dismissal that she respects the court's decision but emphasized there was "absolutely no evidence that any of that ammunition is related to the incident involving" Hutchins.
"There is no reason to believe that the evidence we discussed in court today was related to the set of 'Rust,'" she said. "It never left the state of Arizona."
Even before the sudden conclusion of the "Rust" trial, there were several key moments filled with drama and tension.
Baldwin’s team scored an early legal victory.
The day before the trial began, Judge Sommer ruled that Alec Baldwin's role as a co-producer of "Rust" was not relevant to his involuntary manslaughter trial.
Sommer's decision undermined a key aspect of the prosecutors' strategy. They had intended to argue that Baldwin’s role as co-producer gave him special responsibility on set, particularly on October 21, 2021, when Hutchins was shot inside a church set at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe County.
“I’m having real difficulty with the state’s position that they want to show that as a producer he didn’t follow guidelines and therefore as an actor Mr. Baldwin did all of these things wrong that resulted in the death of Ms. Hutchins because as a producer he allowed these things to happen,” Sommer said at a pretrial hearing Monday.
“I’m denying evidence of his status as a producer,” she added.
In opening statements, dueling depictions of Baldwin
In his 44-year acting career, Baldwin has portrayed characters ranging from antagonists to protagonists. During opening statements on Wednesday, attorneys representing both sides of the "Rust" case depicted the actor to the jury in starkly contrasting roles.
Spiro conveyed to jurors that Hutchins’ death was an "unspeakable tragedy," emphasizing that Baldwin "committed no crime."
"He was an actor, performing his role," Spiro stated.
Spiro contended that Baldwin could not be convicted of involuntary manslaughter, asserting that prop guns are rarely loaded with live ammunition. He informed jurors that actors typically discharge blanks from real firearms, emphasizing that his client adhered to established practices within the film industry.
"I need not elaborate further, as you've all witnessed gunfights in movies," Spiro remarked. (Baldwin portrays the fictional outlaw Harland Rust in "Rust." Although filming concluded after the tragic incident, the movie remains unreleased.)
Special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson alleged in her opening statement that Baldwin neglected safety protocols and mishandled the firearm that tragically took the life of Hutchins, described as "a vibrant 42-year-old rising star." She contended that Baldwin acted independently.
“The evidence will demonstrate that the defendant, Alexander Baldwin, engaged in simulated scenarios with a real firearm and disregarded fundamental firearm safety principles,” Ocampo Johnson stated. Ocampo Johnson resigned from the case unexpectedly on Friday, just before its dismissal.
Bodycam video captured chaos after shooting.
Nicholas Lefleur, the initial law enforcement responder at Bonanza Creek Ranch following the shooting, was the first witness to testify on Wednesday. He wore a body camera as a Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputy at the time. The jury viewed footage from Lefleur's camera, capturing the chaotic scene inside the film set’s church moments after the gunshot.
The video depicted first responders rushing to aid Hutchins, the atmosphere tense and urgent. A medic's voice could be heard asking Hutchins if she could open her eyes as she was stretchered out of the church and placed into an ambulance.
This poignant visual underscored the suddenness of the shooting, reverberating through both the entertainment industry and beyond.
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