NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Charged in the fatal Rust movie set shooting, actor Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter trial ended with a dramatic dismissal this summer over evidence. Now, the prosecutor on the case is asking the judge to reconsider.
“Dismissal with prejudice is warranted to ensure the integrity of the judicial system and efficient ministration of justice,” said Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissing an involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin back in July. “Your motion to dismiss with prejudice is granted.”
In her ruling, the judge said the prosecution failed to disclose evidence – ammunition collected by the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department. “This is critical evidence in the case that was never disclosed to us,” said a defense attorney at the time.
But in a new motion aiming to overturn the dismissal, prosecutors claim the court never required Baldwin’s lawyer to disclose how or when they learned of the ammo, which was turned in by a friend of armorer Hannah Gutierrez’s stepfather, Troy Teske. Prosecutors claim if the defense knew about the ammo before the trial, there was no violation of Baldwin’s due process rights.
“These are rounds that never left Arizona. They were always in possession of Thell Reed and Troy Teseke,” said Special Prosecutor Kari Morrissey during the trial. “They never went to Texas, they never came to New Mexico.”
Prosecutors claim Teske provided two photos to investigators, showing different rounds but none of them matched live rounds found on the set of Rust. “I’m disappointed because I believe that, I believe that the importance of the evidence was misconstrued by the defense attorneys,” Morrissey said.
In March, three months before the trial, Teske turned in rounds that matched ammo on the set of Rust. The state says that ammo could have been from anywhere, and where the live ammunition came from has nothing to do with Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charge.
So far, no court date has been set on when the motion could be heard.
