Alec Baldwin broke down in tears as a New Mexico judge dismissed the manslaughter case against him for a fatal shooting on the set of Rust.
Baldwin’s trial was canceled three days after it began in Santa Fe, at a courthouse just miles from where Halyna Hutchins, a cameraman, was shot with the pistol Baldwin had used during the rehearsal.
This is the second time the case against the actor has been dismissed since the October 2021 shooting. He will not be tried again.
“There are too many people who have supported me to thank right now,” Baldwin wrote on Instagram on Saturday. “To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness to my family.”
His lawyer accused police and prosecutors of hiding evidence — a round of bullets — that could have been linked to the shooting.
A key aspect of the case is how live ammunition appeared on the set, and Mr. Baldwin’s attorney has questioned the investigation and the authorities’ handling of the scene.
Their motion to dismiss set off a remarkable series of events, as one of the two special prosecutors in charge of the case resigned, and Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the jury to hear from more witnesses.
Mr Baldwin’s lawyer said the bullets may be related to Ms Hutchins’ death, but were filed in a separate case with a different case number.
Prosecutors argued that the ammunition was unrelated to the case and did not match the bullets found on the Rust set.
However, the judge ruled that this information must be shared with Mr Baldwin’s defense team.
“The state’s deliberate and intentional withholding of this information was intentional,” she said from the bench. “There is no way for the court to correct this mistake.”
Prosecutors will not be able to bring charges against Baldwin again because the judge did not declare the case a mistrial but instead dismissed it outright with prejudice.
“That’s the nuclear option. The case is over,” Los Angeles trial lawyer Joshua Ritter told the BBC.
Baldwin, best known for his roles on the NBC comedy 30 Rock and as Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, wept as the judge read a lengthy statement detailing the reasons for her firing. His wife, Hilaria, covered her mouth. Other family members cried and laughed.
The actor hugged his lawyer and then his wife, who was sitting behind him. They walked hand in hand through the press tunnel into a black car without answering any questions or making any comments.
Evidence came to light on Thursday, when a crime scene technician told the court that a man named Troy Teske, a retired police officer, had turned over live ammunition that could be linked to the case.
Mr Teske was a friend of the stepfather of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s weapons designer, who was convicted of manslaughter earlier this year.
He worked with Seth Kenney, who assisted with props and ammunition on set.
After the judge sent the jury home on Friday, the court heard from a series of witnesses about the bullets, including those in authority leading the case and Mr Kenney.
Near the end of the hearing, one of the prosecutors leading the case — Kari Morrissey — took the stand to testify about the bullets and why they weren’t shared with the defense. It’s rare for a prosecutor to testify in a case they’ve brought about their role in the investigation.
Morrissey testified that the ammunition had “no evidentiary value” in her opinion. While on the stand, she said her co-prosecutor, Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, resigned on Friday as the judge considered dismissing the case.
She explained that Ms Johnson “disagreed with the decision to hold a public hearing” on the evidence complaints.
