Rust shooting prosecutor asks judge to reopen Alec Baldwin murder case

Defending the state’s handling of the Rust shooting case, New Mexico Special Prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey asked a judge to reconsider the circumstances that led to the dismissal of the murder charge against Alec Baldwin.

In a letter filed with the court on Friday, Morrissey asked New Mexico Superior Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer to reconsider her decision to dismiss Baldwin’s murder case.

Six weeks ago, Marlowe Sommer dramatically ended Baldwin’s criminal trial after potential new evidence emerged: A former Arizona cop had delivered nearly two dozen .45-caliber bullets to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office several months earlier, claiming they could be connected to the “Rust” shooting 2½ years earlier that killed camerawoman Halyna Hutchins.

The former officer, Troy Teske, is a friend of Thell Reed, a renowned Hollywood gunsmith and the father of Hannah Gutierrez, the gun handler in “Rust” who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March in connection with the shooting. Teske was scheduled to be a witness at her trial, but Gutierrez’s defense attorney decided not to call Teske to testify.

After Gutierrez’s trial and before leaving Santa Fe, Teske turned over ammunition he had brought back to New Mexico to local sheriff’s deputies. Three of the shell casings appeared to match the fatal bullet used in the shooting on the set of the movie “Rust,” deputies later testified.

Read more:Behind the Spectacular Collapse of the Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Shooting Investigation

During Baldwin’s trial, a Santa Fe County sheriff’s crime scene technician testified that he had taken Teske’s bullets and placed them in an evidence locker. However, the bullets were not included as part of the evidence in the “Rust” shooting, as later testimony showed.

Instead, the ammunition was filed under a different case number — a fact that Baldwin’s lawyers viewed as evidence that the state was allegedly hiding material that could be helpful in Baldwin’s defense.

The judge agreed with this opinion and dismissed the criminal charges.

In her 52-page motion, Morrissey argued that defense attorneys knew more about Teske’s rounds than she did. She wrote that the situation surrounding the rounds did not rise to the level that would justify dismissing Marlowe Sommer’s case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be re-filed.

Morrissey argued that the late disclosure of Teske’s ammunition did not hinder Baldwin’s defense because his attorneys apparently knew about the ammunition before the trial. Morrissey also argued that the ammunition was unrelated to the charges Baldwin faced.

“It never occurred to the State that Teske’s bullets were relevant to the case against Mr. Baldwin, which they were not,” Morrissey wrote.

A representative for Baldwin was not initially available for comment.

Read more:Judge dismisses Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter case in ‘Rust’ shooting

Morrissey wrote that the state, which had only two lawyers in Baldwin’s case, lacked the resources of the actor’s team, which included at least nine attorneys. She asked the judge to ask Baldwin’s lawyers to disclose when they learned about Teske’s rounds — presumably to show that it was well before Baldwin’s trial, which began July 9 with jury selection.

Morrissey also wrote in her motion that crime scene technician Marissa Poppell did not attempt to mislead the judge when she testified that Teske’s bullets were different from those discovered in the October 2021 “Rust” video.

“She gave erroneous and inaccurate testimony because people sometimes make mistakes,” Morrissey wrote.

In July, the judge became visibly upset when she noticed that three of the bullets actually matched live ammunition found on the set of Rust.

Read more:Full Coverage: Halyna Hutchins Fatally Shot On The Set Of ‘Rust’

Morrissey said the judge should consider less drastic remedies, such as granting a mistrial, which would give Baldwin’s team the opportunity to examine the ammunition and have it reviewed by the FBI.

The judge scheduled a hearing for later this month to consider a separate motion filed by Gutierrez’s attorney to overturn the conviction or allow a new trial.

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This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.