Judge upholds dismissal of involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in on-set shooting

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico judge has upheld her decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.

In a ruling Thursday, state District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer stood by her July decision to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin. She said prosecutors did not raise any factual or legal arguments that would justify reversing her decision.

The case was thrown out halfway through trial on allegations that police and prosecutors withheld evidence from the defence in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust.”

Baldwin’s trial was upended by revelations that ammunition was brought into the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins’ killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammo unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin’s lawyers say investigators “buried” the evidence in a separate case file and filed a successful motion to dismiss.

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey can now decide whether to appeal to a higher court.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for “Rust,” was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.

A judge in April sentenced movie weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to the maximum of 1.5 years at a state penitentiary on an involuntary manslaughter conviction in Hutchins’ death.

Gutierrez-Reed also has asked Judge Marlowe Sommer to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter conviction or convene a new trial on allegations prosecutors failed to share evidence that might have been exculpatory.