Alec Baldwin plans to sue prosecutor and sheriff after they withheld evidence during their botched bid to prosecute him over fatal Rust shooting
- Alec Baldwin is planning on suing a prosecutor and a sheriff involved in his trial
- He was accused of killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021
- But prosecutors and cops withheld evidence from his trial
Alec Baldwin is planning on suing a New Mexico state prosecutor and sheriff after it emerged they withheld evidence from his defense team during their failed bid to prosecute him over the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set for 'Rust.'
Charges of involuntary manslaughter against Baldwin, 66, were dismissed last week after a New Mexico judge agreed that prosecutor Kari Morrissey and Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza withheld evidence about the source of the live round that killed 'Rust' cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.
The evidence came from a man who dropped it off at the sheriff's office in March, more than two years after the shooting, who said it may be relevant.
But investigators believed it was unrelated and unimportant, and did not disclose it to Baldwin's defence team.
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.
Alec Baldwin is planning on suing a New Mexico state prosecutor and sheriff after it emerged they withheld evidence from his defense team
Halyna Hutchins, 42, (pictured) was a mother-of-one and up-and-coming cinematographer when she was fatally shot on the set of the Alec Baldwin-produced indie Western 'Rust'
Prosecutor Kari Morrissey (pictured) is accused of withholding evidence from Baldwin's defence team
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza (pictured) is accused of not handing evidence over to Baldwin's lawyers
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 in response to the prosecutors' failures to disclose evidence.
They claimed prosecutors failed 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.
Baldwin has consistently maintained his innocence
The gun fired a live round inadvertently loaded by the movie's chief weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez (pictured)
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.
