Alec Baldwin hints he may sue sheriff and prosecutor in Rust trial

Alec Baldwin has told a prosecutor and a sheriff in New Mexico that he may sue them after they allegedly withheld evidence from the defense during his trial over the death on the set of the movie “Rust.”

A New Mexico judge dismissed manslaughter charges against Baldwin on the third day of the trial Friday (12).

The judge agreed with the artist’s lawyers that prosecutor Kari Morrissey and the sheriff’s office withheld evidence about the origin of the live bullet that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.

Baldwin’s representatives sent letters to Morrissey and Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza dated Monday asking to preserve documents for future litigation, according to copies of the letters seen by Reuters.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it received the letter from Baldwin’s legal team but declined to comment further on Wednesday (17). Morrissey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hutchins died when the gun Baldwin pointed at her went off as they were adjusting a camera frame on a film set near Santa Fe.

The gun fired live ammunition mistakenly loaded by the film’s chief gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez. She was convicted of manslaughter in March.

Serving an 18-month prison sentence, Gutierrez filed a motion to dismiss the charges on Tuesday over prosecutors’ failure to disclose evidence about the live ammunition, tests of Baldwin’s gun by weapons expert Lucien Haag and an interview with the film’s prop supplier, Seth Kenney.

Erlinda Johnson resigned as Morrissey’s assistant in the prosecution of the case on Friday, shortly before Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the charges against Baldwin.

Johnson told Reuters that since being appointed in April, she had provided the defense with the documents without alteration after they contacted her seeking information after Morrissey failed to provide the documents they requested.