A New Mexico judge sent the jury home in Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial on Friday so she could consider a defense motion to dismiss the charges against the actor in the Rust case.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the jury for the day shortly before 2 p.m. Friday so she could work through a defense motion accusing the state of withholding ammunition evidence that could be related to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' death.
Baldwin, 66, is facing up to 18 months in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the movie set in October 2021.
"We don't know if it's a live ammunition match or not," Baldwin's attorney Luke Nikas told the judge. "But we do know that the state had it, and it's disclosable."
The prosecution and defense returned to the courtroom at 3 p.m. without the jury present to hear testimony from Rust prop supplier Seth Kenney. He is friends with veteran Hollywood armorer Thell Reed, who also happens to be Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's father.
Kenny testified that Gutierrez-Reed texted him and asked if she could shoot live ammo out of a prop gun. He claimed he told her it was a bad idea and doing so "always ends in tears." Gutierrez-Reed is currently serving her 18-month jail sentence for her role in the fatal shooting.
The prosecution has said that the ammo was not connected to the case and was not hidden. The judge now wants to hear testimony from Kenney, as well as Jason Bowles, the attorney of Gutierrez-Reed.
Baldwin's lawyers claim Arizona police offer Troy Teske was a "good Samaritan" and hand-delivered the ammo in question to a crime scene technician after the Gutierrez-Reed trial. Teske is a friend of Gutierrez-Reed's father and veteran Hollywood armorer Thell Reed.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey claimed the box of ammo Teske presented was different colors than the bullets used on the movie set and therefore irreverent. The defense, however, thinks that is not for Morrissey to decide and that the state should have disclosed it to them.
"This is a wild goose chase that has no evidentiary value whatsoever," Morrissey told the judge Friday. "This is just a man trying to protect his [Reed's] daughter."
Gutierrez-Reed's testimony was delayed and did not take place Friday. Her attorney says she plans to plead the Fifth Amendment.
Baldwin has received support from his wife, Hilaria, brother Stephen, and sister Beth Keuchler in court this week. Hilaria brought the couple's youngest of seven children, Ilaria, to court on Tuesday – a move attorney for Hutchins' family, Gloria Allred, disapproved of.
"I know that yesterday, Baldwin brought one of his seven children," Allred told Law & Crime on Wednesday. "I know that he has apparently signed up for a reality show. This is not a reality show. This is a trial for involuntary voluntary manslaughter of a young, talented cinematographer."
The legendary defense attorney called the family display "a cynical and, potentially, a calculated public relations move to make him feel more sympathetic or seem more sympathetic to the jury."
Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
