Alec Baldwin broke down in tears as a New Mexico judge dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against him for a fatal shooting on the set of the film Rust.
The trial collapsed three days into Baldwin’s trial in Santa Fe, at a court just miles from where Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer, was shot with a revolver that Mr Baldwin was using in rehearsals.
It is the second time the case against the actor has been dismissed since the October 2021 shooting. He will not be tried again.
“There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now,” Mr Baldwin wrote on Instagram on Saturday. “To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family.”
His lawyers alleged police and prosecutors hid evidence – a batch of bullets – that could have been connected to the shooting.
A key aspect of the case has been how live ammunition ended up on the set and Mr Baldwin’s lawyers have questioned the investigation and mistakes made by authorities who processed the scene.
Their motion to dismiss sparked a remarkable set of events, with one of the two special prosecutors leading the case resigning, and Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissing the jury to hear from multiple witnesses.
The bullets, Mr Baldwin’s lawyer said, could be related to Ms Hutchins’ death, but were filed in a different case with a different number.
Prosecutors argued the ammunition was not connected to the case and did not match bullets found on the Rust set.
The judge ruled, however, that they should have been shared with Mr Baldwin’s defence team regardless.
“The state’s wilful withholding of this information was intentional and deliberate,” she said from the bench. “There is no way for the court to right this wrong.”
Prosecutors will not be able to lodge the charge against Baldwin again, as the judge did not rule the case a mistrial, but instead outright dismissed it with prejudice.
“It was the nuclear option. The case is over,” Los Angeles trial attorney Joshua Ritter told the BBC.
Mr Baldwin, best known for his role on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock and for portraying Donald Trump on sketch show Saturday Night Live, wept as the judge read from a lengthy statement detailing her reasons for the dismissal. His wife, Hilaria, covered her mouth. Other members of his family cried and smiled.
The actor hugged his lawyers then embraced his wife, who was seated behind him. They walked out hand-in-hand through a tunnel of press into a black vehicle without answering any questions or making any comments.
The evidence came to light on Thursday, when a crime-scene technician told the court that a man named Troy Teske, a retired police officer, had turned over live ammunition that could be related to the case.
Mr Teske is friends with the step-father of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armourer who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year.
He was working with Seth Kenney, who helped with props and ammunition on the film set.
After the judge sent the jury home on Friday, the court heard from a series of witnesses about the bullets, including authorities who led the case and Mr Kenney.
Towards the end of the hearing, one of the prosecutors leading the case – Kari Morrissey – took the stand to testify about the bullets and why they weren’t shared with the defence. It’s remarkably rare for a prosecutor to testify in a case they bring about their role in the investigation.
Ms Morrissey testified the ammunition had “no evidentiary value” from her perspective. While on the stand, she said that her co-prosecutor, Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, resigned on Friday as the judge weighed to dismiss the case.
She explained Ms Johnson “didn’t agree with the decision to have a public hearing” over the evidence claims.
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