Alec Baldwin’s defense attorneys argued Monday that damage done during FBI testing to a revolver that killed a cinematographer on the set of the Western “Rust” has stripped them of the ability to put on a proper defense at the actor’s forthcoming trial, and asked a New Mexico judge to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge against him.
“They understood that this was potentially exculpatory evidence and they destroyed it anyway,” Baldwin lawyer John Bash said during a virtual court hearing. “It’s outrageous and it requires dismissal.”
Prosecutors argued that the gun breaking into pieces during testing was “unfortunate” but that Baldwin’s team still has plenty of evidence for a defense and did not meet their burden for having the case thrown out.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she expects to issue a ruling on the motion to dismiss on Friday.
During the fatal rehearsal on Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin was pointing the gun at Halyna Hutchins on a movie-set ranch when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza, who survived.
Sheriff’s investigators initially sent the revolver to the FBI only for DNA testing, but when an FBI analyst heard Baldwin say in an ABC TV interview in December that he never pulled the trigger, the agency told the local authorities they could conduct an accidental discharge test.
