During Alec Baldwin's manslaughter trial, the actor's lawyers sought to shift attention away from whether he pulled the trigger in the accidental shooting that killed a cinematographer on the set of the film “Rust” and toward another key question: Where did the fatal bullet come from?
Baldwin's attorneys have repeatedly accused law enforcement officials and prosecutors of botching the case, including by allegedly withholding evidence that could possibly solve the central mystery surrounding the Oct. 21, 2021, fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins.
New Mexico First Judicial District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sent the jury home for the day Friday morning after a dramatic hearing in which Baldwin's attorney, Luke Nikas, demanded the case be dismissed, pointing to possible evidence related to the origin of the live ammunition.
Baldwin's attorneys accused the state of misconduct, pointing to a batch of untested bullets that a potential witness turned over to sheriff's investigators months ago.
“This is crucial evidence, Your Honor,” Nikas said.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office received the evidence in question three months ago, but it was never turned over to Baldwin’s defense team, Nikas said. In March, a retired Arizona police officer brought shell casings and bullets to the sheriff’s office — materials the former officer labeled as potential evidence in the “Rust” shooting.
Baldwin was charged in January with one count of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins' death. He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could spend up to 18 months in prison. The trial began Wednesday.
During the hearing, a demonstration took place that even Marlowe Sommer called “unusual.” The judge ordered the evidence to be brought into the courtroom. Minutes later, a sheriff’s deputy walked through the quiet courtroom with a package and handed it to the judge.
The judge, dressed in black, put on blue latex gloves and opened the sealed evidence envelope with a pair of scissors. Marlowe Sommer then walked into the courtroom foyer and ordered a sheriff's crime scene technician to gather and inspect the bag's contents: .45-caliber bullets.
The lead bullets found on the “Rust” set were chambered in Starline Brass casings, making them easily identifiable to investigators looking into the shooting, and some of the bullets introduced Friday were also stamped with Starline Brass.
Baldwin's team argued that the charges against Baldwin should be dismissed, citing rules of evidence that require defense attorneys to be provided with evidence that could be helpful to their case.
Special prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey protested that the bullets produced by retired officer Troy Teske arrived only after gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Morrissey described Teske as “a good friend” of Gutierrez’s stepfather, Thell Reed, a veteran Hollywood gunsmith and shooter.
The new collection of bullets “simply has no evidentiary value,” Morrissey insisted.
Still, the judge said she was concerned that the defense team had not been given adequate information and set aside the day of jury testimony to hold a hearing on the handling of the bullets supplied by Teske.
The issue first came up during testimony from crime scene technician Marissa Poppell on Thursday. Baldwin's other attorney, Alex Spiro, introduced the controversy, saying a “good Samaritan” had found evidence that could be helpful to the “Rust” shooting case earlier this year.
In his cross-examination, Spiro suggested that the Santa Fe sheriff accused sheriff's investigators of “burying” important evidence. On Friday, Nikas said the matter was just the latest misstep by prosecutors and investigators.
“It's time for this case to be dismissed,” Nikas said.
“The fact that they hid [the evidence]“The fact that they put it under a separate document number, they didn’t disclose the supplementary report, they didn’t disclose the bullets… If it was so irrelevant and had no evidentiary value, it would have been there,” Nikas said.
Morrissey called the affair “a wild goose chase.”
“Your Honor, there has been absolutely no violation of our obligations as prosecutors,” Morrissey said.
During testimony Thursday, Morrissey identified the “Good Samaritan” as a friend of Gutierrez’s stepfather.
“Are you aware that Troy Teske is a close friend of Hannah’s father?” Morrissey asked Poppell during Thursday’s testimony when the jury was present. “Are you aware that Troy Teske had his own motivations for wanting to help Ms. Gutierrez?”
Questions about the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office's investigation into the shooting have long persisted.
The investigation lasted more than a year, and sheriff's investigators never conclusively determined the source of the live ammunition on the set of “Rust,” a fact Baldwin's team has made central to its case.
From the moment officers arrived at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, about 10 miles south of Santa Fe, they were overwhelmed. More than 100 film crew members were milling around, trying to figure out what had happened.
The department was understaffed. Timoteo Benavidez, a retired sheriff's lieutenant who was the commander at the scene, told jurors Wednesday that only seven deputies patrolled the entire county that day.
The handful of officers who responded to the set after the 911 call were met with “people everywhere,” Benavidez said. He also had to calm Gutierrez, who appeared to be having a panic attack, according to his lapel camera video, which was played for the jury.
Benavidez called New Mexico State Police for backup, but a state police commander refused. “I don’t remember if they said they didn’t have enough backup.” [officers] …or the supervisor simply said ‘no,’” Benavidez testified.
