SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Criminal case Alec Baldwin It started with bullet handling, and it ended with bullet handling.
when Director of photography: Halina Hutchins When Hutchins was shot and killed nearly three years ago on the New Mexico set of “Lust,” one question haunted authorities but never definitively answered: How did live rounds get mixed in with the blanks and inert imitation rounds that play the role of bullets onscreen — and in the revolver that Baldwin’s character pointed at Hutchins?
The actor’s manslaughter trial came to an abrupt end Friday after a judge ruled that prosecutors improperly failed to disclose ammunition that Baldwin’s defense team found as a possible explanation for the incident, which had been turned over by a man who broke into the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office in March.
One of the two special prosecutors handling the case, who resigned hours before the firing, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the judge’s decision was correct.
“If you take a step back and think, ‘Could the defense have used this to prepare their defense?’ The answer is probably, yes. … If so, the appropriate remedy should be dismissal of the lawsuit.” Erlinda Ocampo Johnson He added that it was unfortunate that the jury “was not able to hear the facts and reach a verdict.”
Because the trial ended at an early stage, it’s unclear whether the lawsuit filed by Baldwin’s elite, expensive legal team has shed light on the live ammunition issue or created further confusion.
But the firings have closed one of the last avenues for addressing that question.
“I feel like this case is kind of closed, and we’ll never know what the end game is,” said John Day, a New Mexico attorney who has been following the case but is not involved in it. “You can’t redo a bad investigation. Once it’s over, it’s over. There’s really nothing else that can be done.”
Another special prosecutor, Kari Morrissey, and other officials said that while they may not know how Baldwin’s revolver got live ammunition, they are at least fairly certain who brought it to the shooting scene. Hannah Gutierrez ReidThe film’s weapons manufacturer was convicted of manslaughter in March and given the 18 months in prison that Baldwin would have received had he been convicted.
A crime scene technician testified this week that photos found on Gutierrez-Reed’s cellphone showed her with the box of bullets.
And at the hearing that led to the dismissal of the lawsuit on Friday, Seth Kenney, who supplied firearms and blank and imitation ammunition to the set of “Lust,” testified that just before “Lust,” he received a call and email from Gutierrez Reed about firing live ammunition from a firearm as a prop for “The Old Way,” a movie starring Nicolas Cage that was being filmed in Montana.
“I said, ‘Absolutely not,’ and ‘That would be a huge mistake,'” Kenney said on the witness stand. “I even said, ‘It always ends badly.'”
Baldwin’s defense team tried to suggest that authorities did not investigate Kenny thoroughly, that they had too close a relationship with Kenny, and that Gutierrez-Reed’s possible direct ties to Baldwin led them to turn a blind eye to the possibility that Kenny had live ammunition. The trial ended too quickly for the defense to elaborate on this theory.
Police and prosecutors have said they have no evidence implicating Kenney, and he testified Friday that he believes he was not the source.
Gutierrez Reed is currently appealing her sentence, and her lawyers have said they plan to file new motions to dismiss in the wake of Baldwin’s ruling.
After the verdict was handed down, Baldwin cried in the courtroom and hugged his lawyer and his wife.
He thanked his supporters on Saturday, making his first public comments.
“I’m so grateful to so many people for their support right now.” Baldwin said in a short Instagram post. It was accompanied by a photo of him sitting in the courtroom: “You guys will never know how much I appreciate your kindness towards my family.”
Several civil lawsuits against Baldwin and the producers of “Lust” may shed light on the bullet issue.
A settled lawsuit by Hutchins’ husband and son could be reopened, while lawsuits by the cinematographer’s parents, sister and crew are still before the courts.
While lawyers in these cases do not have the investigative powers that police have, they could have one advantage prosecutors do not have: If a resolution to the criminal case means Baldwin can no longer argue he faces criminal charges, it could open the door to depositions in the civil lawsuit.
“I’m still here, we have a large legal team,” said attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Hutchins’ parents and “Lust” writer-director Mamie Mitchell. “I’ve been practicing law ever since I started, and I’ve been doing this for 48 years, and I’ve never been daunted by a criminal case being dismissed or a criminal conviction that was subsequently overturned on appeal.”
Allred said she doesn’t know how long the civil trial will last, but “no matter how long we fight it, we want accountability and justice for the untimely and tragic loss of this beautiful and talented cinematographer,” she said.
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Dalton reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Susan Montoya Bryan contributed from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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