July 17 (Reuters) – Alec Baldwin might take legal action against a New Mexico state prosecutor and sheriff. This is after they reportedly withheld evidence from his defense team during the failed attempt to prosecute him over a fatal shooting on the “Rust” movie set.
A judge in New Mexico dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin on the third day of trial, agreeing with Baldwin’s lawyers that prosecutor Kari Morrissey and the sheriff’s office concealed evidence.
This evidence was about the source of the live round that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.
Baldwin’s lawyers sent letters to Morrissey and Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza. The letters, dated Monday, asked them to preserve documents for potential future litigation, as seen by Reuters.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed receipt of Baldwin’s letter but declined to comment further. Morrissey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hutchins died when Baldwin pointed a gun at her while setting up a camera shot on a movie set near Santa Fe.
The gun fired a live round that was inadvertently loaded by the movie’s chief weapons handler, Hannah Gutierrez. Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March.
Gutierrez, currently serving an 18-month prison sentence, filed a motion on Tuesday to dismiss charges. She cited the failure of prosecutors to disclose evidence about the live rounds, testing of Baldwin’s gun by firearms expert Lucien Haag, and an interview with the movie’s props supplier, Seth Kenney.
Erlinda Johnson resigned as Morrissey’s assistant prosecutor on Friday, shortly before judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the charges against Baldwin.
Johnson told Reuters that since her appointment in April, she provided the defense with unredacted documents.
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She did so after the defense reached out for information when Morrissey did not provide the requested documents.
“As prosecutors, we have obligations to disclose all the evidence,” Johnson said. She added that dismissing the case was the right decision. “We owe a duty not only to the people but also to the defendants accused of crimes.”
Johnson mentioned that she did not give Baldwin’s legal team details about the live rounds. She only learned of that evidence when the defense did during court testimony.