The dismissal occurred at anevidentiary hearingon Friday, July 12, where Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled that “critical evidence” had been concealed.
“The state has repeatedly made representations to defense and to the court that they were compliant with all their discovery obligations,” she said. “Despite their repeated representations, they have continued to fail to disclose critical evidence to the defendant.
“The state is highly culpable for its failure to provide discovery to the defendant,” she added, before concluding, “Dismissal with prejudice is warranted.”
When the ruling was announced, a tearful Baldwin could be seen hugging his wife, Hilaria Baldwin.
The hearing had initially been called over a motion to dismiss bullets given to Santa Fe police in the weeks prior by ex-Arizona police officer Troy Teske, which had allegedly not been turned over to the defense.
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Baldwin also faced up to 18 months in state prison if found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and maintained that although he cocked the hammer, he never pulled the trigger of the gun.
The judge’s ruling means that Baldwin cannot be recharged. According to Deadline, Gutierrez Reed’s lawyers are now planning tofile a motionfor her release following the ruling.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued that the “concealed” ammunition was not related to the case, and that the evidence had not been hidden from Baldwin’s legal team.
“There is no reason to believe that the evidence that we discussed in court today was related to the set of Rust,”she said, before adding that she respected the judge’s decision.
For moretrue crime, find out whyBaby Reindeer’s alleged real-life Martha has sued Netflix for millions. You can also look at whyThe Jinx Season 2 has proven true crime fans wrong, and seewhere Jonathan Meijer is now.
Jessica Cullen is a TV and Movies Writer on Dexerto’s UK team. She’s previously written for The Digital Fix, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29, Slate and more. Aside from being the residential Yellowstone expert, she also loves Westerns, ’90s action movies, and true crime. You can email her here: jessica.cullen@dexerto.com.
