Alec Baldwin Cries as Judge Dismisses Rust Case in Shocking Twist

Alec Baldwin burst into tears as the judge in his Rust case dropped the involuntary manslaughter charge against him on Friday, July 12, after his defense attorneys argued the prosecutors had buried evidence.

“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 Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, explaining, in part, her decision to dismiss the case with prejudice.

Before the jury was brought in to the courtroom on Friday, the third day of the trial, Baldwin attorney Luke Nikas asked for the case against his client to be dropped, claiming that prosecutors sat on evidence that would have helped shed light onto how live ammunition was brought on to the set of the Western movie Rust in 2021.

Baldwin, who was indicted by a grand jury in January, was rehearsing a scene on the set of the movie when the gun he was holding discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Baldwin has insisted in interviews he did not pull the trigger of the gun or know why it contained live ammunition.

Baldwin's lawyers claim 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.

“We’re talking about a prosecution that didn’t preserve those bullets, that didn’t collect them at all. That didn’t turn them over,” he said.

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

After a lengthy recess, Sommer heard testimony from witnesses including Seth Kenney, the Rust props firearms supplier as well as Corporal Alexandria Hancock of the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office. Hancock works in the office where Teske allegedly dropped off the ammunition.

During one tense exchange, Baldwin attorney Alex Spiro asked Hancock if she was "hiding" any more evidence. "I don't think I've hidden anything," Hancock replied.

Hancock admitted that the ammunition Teske handed over was filed separately from the other Rust evidence. She also said prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey was involved in talks to file them separately.

In a stunning move, Morrissey called herself to testify under oath, and explained why she didn’t think the ammunition handed over was considered Rust evidence.

Under questioning from Baldwin attorney Spiro, she admitted that her co-prosecutor, Erlinda Johnson, had resigned earlier that day. He also asked her, “You just don’t like Mr. Baldwin, do you?” Morrissey replied that she “appreciated” Baldwin’s politics as well as “the acting he did from Saturday Night Live.”

Judge Sommer issued her ruling shortly after Morrissey left the witness stand.

Earlier in the day, during a recess in court before the judge made her decision, Baldwin and his family members including wife Hilaria, brother Stephen Baldwin and sister Beth Keuchler seemed pleased with the way things were going.

Baldwin and Hilaria hugged several times, and Hilaria smiled and laughed with those seated near her in court. Stephen approached Baldwin attorney Alex Spiro in the hallway outside of the courtroom and told him, "You have made us so happy. We are planning to celebrate."