A special prosecutor who resigned from the manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin on Friday stated she stepped down because she felt the charges should have been voluntarily dismissed by the state.
Later that day, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin “with prejudice,” ensuring the charges cannot be refiled against the actor.
Baldwin, 66, had faced a count of involuntary manslaughter for the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the movie “Rust” in 2021, as Baldwin held a revolver intended to be used as a prop. “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March on a count of involuntary manslaughter for her role in the shooting and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, who had accused Baldwin of recklessness in her opening statement, said she recognized the prosecution’s case was in jeopardy on Friday when she learned that some rounds had not been disclosed to the defense.
“It was clear those should have been turned over,” Ocampo Johnson told NBC News on Friday night.
Ocampo Johnson resigned and left the court before a hearing about whether the evidentiary issue warranted the dismissal of Baldwin’s case, as argued by his lawyers, could be completed.
Her fellow special prosecutor, Kari Morrissey, said in court that Ocampo Johnson resigned partly because she “didn’t agree with the decision to have a public hearing.” However, Ocampo Johnson believed no hearing should have taken place at all.
“I believed that the right decision would have been a dismissal,” Ocampo Johnson stated.
Asked if there was resistance to that recommendation, Ocampo Johnson said, “I wouldn’t say ‘push-back,’ it was ‘go forward with the case.’”
Baldwin’s attorneys requested the judge dismiss the case after it was revealed that Troy Teske, a former police officer and friend of Gutierrez-Reed’s stepfather, had delivered .45-caliber rounds to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on March 6, the day of Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction.
Defense attorneys argued they should have been informed about the rounds.
Morrissey contended that the disputed ammunition was neither connected to the case nor hidden from Baldwin’s defense team.
“There is no reason to believe that the evidence discussed in court today was related to the set of ‘Rust,’” Morrissey said after the case was dismissed. Although she disagreed with the judge’s decision, she respected it.
Morrissey did not immediately respond to additional requests for comment on Friday.
Ocampo Johnson maintained that she believed in the criminal case against Baldwin and sought to present evidence showing that days before Hutchins was killed, video demonstrated the firearm “was not handled the way it should have been.”
Baldwin should have been aware of industry guidelines, which include never pointing firearms at people and always treating them as if they are loaded, Ocampo Johnson said.
“I believed in the case,” she stated. “Because I do believe — obviously there’s a woman who was killed. There was some reckless behavior on the set.”
She emphasized that it is the defense attorneys’ responsibility to determine if evidence is relevant to their case.
Ocampo Johnson asserted she does not believe any evidence was intentionally withheld.
“I don’t think it was intentional. I really do not believe that,” she said. “I think it was just something that — it wasn’t turned over, and it should have been.”
After the Baldwin case was dismissed, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, Jason Bowles, announced plans to seek her immediate release.
Ocampo Johnson, who was not involved in that prosecution, could not comment on how Baldwin’s case might affect Gutierrez-Reed’s defense. However, she broadly doubted the disputed ammunition would help overturn Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction.
“I don’t think it should impact her case, but it certainly should have been turned over in this case,” Ocampo Johnson concluded.