Current:Home > FinanceEthermac|Judge considers Alec Baldwin's request to dismiss 'Rust' case over 'concealed' evidence -AssetVision
Ethermac|Judge considers Alec Baldwin's request to dismiss 'Rust' case over 'concealed' evidence
Indexbit Exchange View
Date:2025-04-10 01:29:26
A New Mexico judge on EthermacFriday weighed a surprise request from Alec Baldwin's lawyers to dismiss charges in his involuntary manslaughter trial, alleging police hid the existence of live rounds linked to the 2021 killing of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
On the third day of Baldwin's trial, judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sent home jurors as the court weighed the Baldwin team's claims the Santa Fe sheriff's office took possession of live rounds as evidence but failed to file them in the investigation or disclose their existence to defense lawyers.
"This was hidden from us," Baldwin's lawyer Alex Spiro told a sheriff's office crime scene technician under cross examination out of jurors' hearing.
Sommer outlined a plan to hear evidence on the motion in an afternoon session starting at 1 p.m. local time. It was not clear when she would rule on it.
Baldwin appeared relieved in court. He smiled and hugged his wife Hilaria Baldwin and held the hand of his sister Elizabeth Keuchler.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
The judge told jurors to come back on Monday morning, acknowledging the move was unusual.
'Rust' trial latest:Here are the biggest revelations so far
Crime scene technician, state prosecutor deny hiding live bullet evidence
The technician, Marissa Poppel, said the rounds were not hidden from Baldwin and she was told to file them, and details on how they were obtained, under a different case number to the "Rust" case. Police did not ask the FBI to test the live rounds.
Poppel disputed Spiro's assertion the Colt .45 ammunition handed into police on March 6 matched the round that killed Hutchins. She said she did not believe Spiro's claim the ammunition proved props supplier Seth Kenney supplied the fatal live round.
Kenney has said he did not supply live rounds to "Rust" and he has not been charged. He was set to testify on Friday.
Prosecutor Kari Morrissey questioned the allegation the evidence was concealed from Baldwin.
"If you buried it how did the defense attorneys know to cross examine you about it yesterday?" asked Morrissey.
Teske, a retired police officer, gave police ammunition from a batch of live rounds Kenney and Reed used to train actors for filming of the movie "1883" in Texas, Baldwin's defense said in its motion. Teske told prosecutors of the existence of the rounds in November 2023 and said he did not know whether they matched the fatal "Rust" round, the filing said.
The rounds were not presented by the sheriff's office to the defense when they asked to see all ballistics evidence at an April 2024 evidence viewing, the motion said.
The Colt .45 rounds were handed into the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office on March 6 by Troy Teske — a friend of Thell Reed, the stepfather of "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed — on the same day Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for Hutchins' death.
"It’s absolutely outrageous that they filed these rounds away under a different case number and never tested them," said Gutierrez-Reed's lawyer Jason Bowles. "The state tried to hide the ball."
Prosecutors accused Gutierrez of bringing the live rounds onto the set, an allegation she denied.
Prosecutors allege Baldwin played a role in the death of Hutchins because he handled the gun irresponsibly. His lawyers say Baldwin was failed by Gutierrez and others responsible for safety on the set, and that law enforcement agents were more interested in prosecuting their client than finding the source of a live round that killed Hutchins.
veryGood! (7835)
Related
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Pregnant Kourtney Kardashian Shows Off Her Baby Bump Progress in Hot Pink Bikini
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $240 Crossbody Bag for Just $59
- Frustration Simmers Around the Edges of COP27, and May Boil Over Far From the Summit
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- One Year Later: The Texas Freeze Revealed a Fragile Energy System and Inspired Lasting Misinformation
- Warming Trends: Bill Nye’s New Focus on Climate Change, Bottled Water as a Social Lens and the Coming End of Blacktop
- At the Greater & Greener Conference, Urban Parks Officials and Advocates Talk Equity and Climate Change
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- The Summer I Turned Pretty Cast Reveals Whether They're Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah
Ranking
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- Inside Clean Energy: In the New World of Long-Duration Battery Storage, an Old Technology Holds Its Own
- Household debt, Home Depot sales and Montana's TikTok ban
- Maryland Department of the Environment Says It Needs More Staff to Do What the Law Requires
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- Why Won’t the Environmental Protection Agency Fine New Mexico’s Greenhouse Gas Leakers?
- After Unprecedented Heatwaves, Monsoon Rains and the Worst Floods in Over a Century Devastate South Asia
- Texas’ Environmental Regulators Need to Get Tougher on Polluters, Group of Lawmakers Says
Recommendation
Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
Republicans Eye the SEC’s Climate-Related Disclosure Regulations, Should They Take Control of Congress
Ford reverses course and decides to keep AM radio on its vehicles
A Tennessee company is refusing a U.S. request to recall 67 million air bag inflators
Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
After Unprecedented Heatwaves, Monsoon Rains and the Worst Floods in Over a Century Devastate South Asia
Group agrees to buy Washington Commanders from Snyder family for record $6 billion
As EPA’s Region 3 Administrator, Adam Ortiz Wants the Mid-Atlantic States to Become Climate-Conscious and Resilient