Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ involuntary manslaughter case dismissed

“Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s father has reacted to the dismissal of Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter case. His daughter was convicted on the same charge.

“Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s father applauded the dismissal of Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter case and said his daughter’s conviction on the same charge should now be tossed.

“Well, I think that’s good,” Thell Reed, 81, told the DailyMail of the stunning end to Baldwin’s case, which was thrown out after a New Mexico judge ruled prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defense.

“I think Hannah’s case should also be dismissed,” the legendary Hollywood armorer told the outlet.

Reed’s daughter was sentenced in April to 18 months behind bars for bringing to set the bullets that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.“There’s a lot of evidence that hasn’t been heard at all. They suppressed all the important evidence and I guess [Baldwin’s] attorneys brought it out,” said Reed.

Gutierrez-Reed, 27, was slated to testify in Baldwin’s trial on Friday before the judge paused proceedings to investigate the defense’s argument that the prosecution withheld evidence.

The evidence in question was ammunition that was dropped off at the sheriff’s office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins’ killing.

Involuntary manslaughter case dismissed

A US judge has thrown out the involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin in the middle of his trial over the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film.

On Friday local time, New Mexico judge Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case and also said the manslaughter case against him could not be filed again.

She made the decision because of police and prosecutor misconduct for withholding of evidence from the defence.

Bullets potentially linked to the Ms Hutchins’ death that could have been favorable to Baldwin’s case had not been shared with his lawyers by police and prosecutors.

Baldwin cried and embraced his lawyers after the decision was announced.

US actor Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria Baldwin embrace during his trial on involuntary manslaughter. Picture: Ramsay de Give / Pool / AFP

Actor Alec Baldwin looks on during his trial for involuntary manslaughter, before the case was dismissed. Picture: Ramsay de Give / Pool / AFP

The Hollywood A-lister immediately burst into tears, as the case -- which could have seen him sentenced to 18 months in prison if found guilty -- was abruptly tossed out in sensational scenes.

“The state’s willful withholding of this information was intentional and deliberate. If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly comes so near to bad faith as to show signs of scorching prejudice,” said Sommer.

“The court concludes that this conduct is highly prejudicial to the defendant.” Baldwin was holding a gun in the direction of Hutchins during a rehearsal in October 2021 when the weapon fired, killing Hutchins and wounding the film’s director.

The movie’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez, who loaded the fatal weapon, is already serving 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

Baldwin was facing the same charge. Prosecutors claim he ignored basic gun safety laws and acted recklessly on set.

Halyna Hutchins was shot dead on the set of Rust. Picture: KOAT

Alec Baldwin was facing up to 18 months in prison. Picture: Angela Weiss / AFP

Baldwin’s celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro argued the actor had no responsibility for checking the weapon’s deadly contents and did not know it contained live rounds.

But the defense’s case also rested heavily on discrediting the police investigation.

And Spiro on Thursday introduced evidence that live bullets potentially linked to the shooting had been handed to police, but not disclosed to Baldwin’s lawyers.

The bullets were handed into police by a “Good Samaritan” earlier this year, more than two years after the “Rust” tragedy.

The “Good Samaritan” was a former police officer and a family friend of Gutierrez, the armorer. He told police the bullets matched the rounds that killed Hutchins.

Spiro accused police of having “buried” evidence by not filing it under the “Rust” case, depriving the defense of a chance to see it.

“Which was a perfect plan,” he told the court.

Alec Baldwin and crew on the set of movie 'Rust' before disaster struck. Picture: Instagram

Instagram photo of Halyna Hutchins who was shot on set of Rust being filmed in new Mexico by actor Alec Baldwin.

Crime scene technician Marissa Poppell, under questioning from Spiro, said she had catalogued the bullets, but had been told not to file them under the “Rust” case.

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey scrambled to respond, telling the court she had never seen or heard of the bullets before this week.

But when it emerged that Morrissey had been present for discussions in which it was decided not to submit the bullets into the “Rust” case file, Morrissey voluntarily called herself as a witness in a last-ditch attempt to salvage the state’s case.

She claimed the allegedly “buried” bullets did not match the live rounds on the set of “Rust,” and had been stored in a different state, Arizona, up to the day of the tragic shooting.

Sommer was not convinced and dismissed the case, prompting the emotional scenes among Baldwin and his family.