How Rust Prosecutors’ Case Against Alec Baldwin Fell Apart in Stunning Fashion: ‘What Have They Done?’ (Exclusive)

• On the first two days of Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial, prosecutors seemed to have momentum
• A stunning accusation of buried evidence turned the tide
• An expert breaks down why the judge ultimately dismissed the case against Baldwin

Before the judge in Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial dismissed the case against him in a shocking move on Friday, July 12, the prosecutors in the case had momentum.

For the first two days of the trial on Wednesday, July 10, and Thursday, July 11, prosecutors Erlinda Johnson and Kari T. Morrissey proved to be impressive and persuasive as they methodically laid out their case against the actor, who was holding a prop gun on the set of the Western movie in 2021 when it discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

In her opening statement, Johnson was a “breath of fresh air,” legal expert Emily D. Baker, a former Los Angeles deputy district attorney who is not involved in the case, tells PEOPLE. “I found her clear, easy to follow.”

Johnson painted Baldwin as a “reckless” actor who did not follow proper gun safety protocol, which she claimed directly contributed to Hutchins’ death.

In his opening, defense attorney Alex Spiro, who has worked with A-list clients including JAY-Z and Elon Musk, leaned into the idea that Baldwin was simply “an actor acting.” He called what happened “an unspeakable tragedy,” but insisted “Alec Baldwin committed no crime.”

“The defense opening was longer than I thought, not as concise and pointed,” notes Baker. She conducted a poll of 3,000 people watching the trial. “It was very clear that they found the prosecution's opening more compelling,” she adds.

From then on, the prosecution seemed to be on a roll as they called their witnesses to testify about Baldwin, who has insisted he never pulled the trigger and did not know how live ammunition made it into the gun he was holding. 

What struck Baker was how “thorough” the prosecution was by flying in the gun manufacturer, Alessandro Pietta, from Italy. He gave what seemed like damning testimony against Baldwin, saying the gun he made “cannot fire without a pull of trigger because the mechanics and design of trigger was made to work in this way.”

(During cross-examination, the defense confirmed that Pietta did not see or have knowledge of its condition on the Rust set.)

While Morrissey’s substance was impressive, her style was commanding, says Baker. 

“What is interesting to me is how in control of the courtroom prosecutor Kari Morrissey is and how much it seems to be throwing the defense off their game,” says Baker. “She interrupts, she objects, she speaks out in the court.”

But the tide turned in shocking fashion on the morning of Friday, July 12.

Before jurors were admitted into the courtroom, Baldwin attorney Luke Nikas made a surprise motion, asking Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer to dismiss the charge against Baldwin, claiming the State had violated what is known as the Brady rule, which requires prosecution to “disclose material, exculpatory information in the government's possession to the defense,” according to Cornell School of Law.

They’d learned via testimony from crime scene technician Marissa Poppell the prior day that a man named Troy Teske, a friend of Thell Reed, the father of convicted Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed — who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for loading a live round into Baldwin's gun — turned over ammunition to authorities that he thought was connected to the case.

Nikas said the defense was never made aware of it, robbing them of their own ability to determine its relevance.

“This is critical evidence in the case that was never disclosed to us…We were entitled to it,” he said. “This case should be dismissed, Your Honor.”

Though it wasn’t known publicly at the time, Johnson, the prosecutor who gave the opening statement, resigned on the spot on Friday morning. 

“Prosecutors have high ethical obligations and when a prosecutor learns of evidence that could be material to the defense was not disclosed, the right thing to do would be to dismiss a case,” Johnson, who thought the State should have dropped the case then and there, told PEOPLE on Saturday, July 13. “When that was not done, my ethical obligations compelled me to withdraw.”

Johnson, who joined as a special prosecutor in April, explained in other interviews that she had no idea about this evidence, which was given to the sheriff’s office prior to her signing on.

In a move that stunned those watching Friday morning, Sommer, who donned gloves and personally inspected the ammunition in the courtroom, agreed to hear testimony regarding the motion to dismiss, and called in the jury to dismiss them for the day. 

Baker says she was left perplexed by the turn of events at a time when the prosecution seemed to be doing so well. “I was like, ‘What have they done?’ ”

The mood in the courtroom turned. Suddenly, Baldwin, who had kept a neutral expression for much of the first two days, seemed lighter as he hugged his wife, Hilaria — who sat behind him along with the actor’s siblings, Stephen Baldwin and Beth Keuchler — and even blew her a kiss.

The defense had tried — and failed — several times prior to get the case dismissed through motions, and now the judge was going to hear them out again rather than proceed with the trial.

Corporal Alexandria Hancock of the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office, where Teske allegedly dropped off the ammunition in March, took the stand and seemed flustered as Spiro grilled her about “hiding” evidence. "I don't think I've hidden anything," Hancock replied.

She did, however, admit that the ammunition Teske handed over was filed separately from the other Rust evidence — and incredibly, she also said prosecutor Morrissey was involved in talks to file them separately.

In another shocking move in a day full of such moments, Morrissey called herself to testify under oath, and explained to the court why she didn’t think the ammunition handed over was considered Rust evidence. She said that the bullets had “no evidentiary value whatsoever.” 

And the “kicker,” adds Baker, is that the Teske evidence “might not have mattered in any way” to the manslaughter case. But Baker notes Baldwin’s team still has the right to have that evidence.

Moments after Morrissey stepped off the witness stand, Sommer issued her ruling, dismissing the case with prejudice, explaining that the Brady rule had been violated.

“The late discovery of this evidence during trial has impeded the effective use of evidence in such a way that it has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings,” said Sommer, in part.

The ruling astounded those watching — the Court TV Youtube feed that streamed the trial was filled with exclamations of surprise — and left Baldwin and his loved ones visibly relieved.

The Emmy winner burst into tears, burying his face in his hands, while Hilaria and Beth were seen crying, too.

"The dismissal with prejudice is one of the strictest sanctions against prosecutors and, by extension law enforcement, when they do things wrong that impact the defendant's constitutional rights,” says Baker. “It is taking the case away from them and telling them they can no longer prosecute this defendant.”

Sommer’s ruling “ends the case against Alec Baldwin,” says Baker, who explains that no more criminal charges can be brought against him. (He can, however, face civil action.)

The involuntary manslaughter case prosecutors pursued “was ridiculous to begin with,” says one legal source. “But shame on [prosecutors] for pursuing this against Alec personally. For grandstanding. For ignoring evidence. For ultimately trying to bury evidence.”

From a legal perspective, Baker agrees Sommer made the right decision. 

But, she notes, “this [ruling] doesn't say Baldwin didn't do anything wrong. What this finding by the court says is that prosecution and law enforcement did something so wrong that the only remedy here is to not prosecute Baldwin.”