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New Mexico judge dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges
against Baldwin on the third day of trial on Friday, agreeing
with his lawyers that prosecutor Kari Morrissey and the
sheriff's office concealed evidence 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 dated Monday asking them to preserve
documents for future litigation, according to copies of the
letters seen by Reuters.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office confirmed it received the
letter from Baldwin's legal team but declined further comment on
Wednesday. Morrissey did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
Hutchins died when Baldwin pointed a gun at her as they set up a
camera shot on a movie set near Santa Fe. The gun fired a live
round inadvertently loaded by the movie's chief weapons handler
Hannah Gutierrez. Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary
manslaughter in March.
Gutierrez, serving an 18-month prison sentence, on Tuesday filed
a motion for dismissal of charges due to the failure of
prosecutors to disclose evidence on 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 prosecuting
the case on Friday, shortly before judge Mary Marlowe Sommer
dismissed charges against Baldwin.
Johnson told Reuters that in the months since she was appointed
in April she provided the defense with unredacted documents
after they got in touch with her seeking information when
Morrissey did not provide documents they requested.
"As prosecutors we have obligations to disclose all the
evidence," she said, adding that she believed it was right to
dismiss the case. "We not only owe a duty to the people, but to
the defendants accused of crimes as well."
Johnson said she did not give Baldwin's legal team details of
the live rounds and only learned of that evidence when the
defense did during testimony in court.
(Reporting By Andrew Hay; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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