Alec Baldwin’s trial took a dramatic turn: the judge interrupted the hearing on Friday and sent the jury home, because of the discovery of new bullets to which the defense never had access, a flaw that could jeopardize the procedure.
The 66-year-old actor is being prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter on the set of his western Rust in 2021. He faces up to 18 months in prison.
On the set of the film, shot in New Mexico, the star brandished a gun that was supposed to hold only blanks but instead fired a real projectile. The shot killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.
Marked by numerous weaknesses and twists, the investigation has never established how real bullets, absolutely forbidden on a film set, ended up on the set of Rust.
Nearly three years later, that question now haunts Mr. Baldwin’s trial, and could lead to its outright mistrial.
His lawyers filed an appeal to this effect on Thursday evening, accusing the police of having “buried” evidence that could explain the tragedy.
Because earlier this year, two and a half years after the events, the sheriff of Santa Fe received a batch of bullets from a former police officer, claiming that these ammunition matched the deadly bullet. Enough to potentially establish its origin and clarify the responsibilities of each in the tragedy.
However, these bullets were never transmitted to the defense, which was unable to have them examined.
“It’s time to close this case,” Luke Nikas, one of Baldwin’s lawyers, said Friday morning.
An objection taken very seriously by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who examined the bullets herself with a pair of blue latex gloves.
The magistrate dismissed the jury until Monday morning, the time to decide on a possible cancellation of the trial.
” Wrong path “
According to the prosecution, these bullets do not match the one that took M’s life.me Hutchins, a promising 42-year-old cinematographer from Ukraine.
“This is a red herring,” prosecutor Kari Morrissey said. “It has no probative value.”
But the prosecutor seemed very uncomfortable explaining why this batch of bullets did not play a greater role in the investigation.
“I never saw them until this morning,” she explained to the nervous judge.
Called to testify, Marissa Poppell, a technical expert for the Santa Fe sheriff, explained that a report had been prepared on these munitions, but had not been sent to the prosecutor’s office.
She also found that there was no match between these bullets and the one in the homicide, despite a certain visual resemblance.
The judge must now hear new witnesses alone during a technical hearing that will decide the fate of the trial. The film’s weapons supplier, Seth Kenney, and an investigator will be questioned about these bullets.
The gunsmith of RustHannah Gutierrez-Reed, was already tried separately and sentenced to 18 months in prison in April.
Before this trial, Mr. Baldwin’s defense had already multiplied appeals to obtain its cancellation.
The actor has always explained that he was assured that the weapon was harmless, and denies having pulled the trigger.
His lawyers argue that even if he accidentally pressed it, it does not justify a conviction. Under film industry guidelines, it is not the actors’ job to verify that a weapon is safe.
Prosecutors accuse Mr. Baldwin of behaving erratically on set, disregarding basic safety rules and putting pressure on the rest of the crew.
But according to the defense, this insistence on pursuing him vitiated the investigation and led the police to overlook certain leads.