Alec Baldwin 'Rust' shooting case: What led to the stunning dismissal

SANTE FE, N.M. — In a scene fit for a Hollywood legal thriller, the involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin for the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins in 2021 disintegrated in a matter of hours Friday and featured the lead prosecutor taking the stand.

Baldwin, 66, entered the courtroom Friday facing the prospect of up to 18 months in prison and walked out unscathed after Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled prosecutors were "intentional and deliberate" in withholding key information from the defense.

Baldwin sobbed at the witness table and embraced his wife, Hilaria, before heading back to the Eldorado Hotel and Spa to celebrate the astonishing turn of events.

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The trial's fourth day opened with defense attorney Luke Nikas accusing the state of sneakily burying evidence that live ammunition found on the set of "Rust" that killed Hutchins may have come from prop supplier Seth Kenney.

Despite the gravity of the claims and the prospect of public humiliation, lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey refused to drop the case prior to Friday's session.

"I told her to dismiss it. The evidence should have been turned over."

— Special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson told Fox News Digital

But her co-counsel, special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, abruptly resigned before the hearing was held on whether to dismiss the case over the concealed evidence.

"I told her to dismiss it. The evidence should have been turned over," special prosecutor Johnson told Fox News Digital. "I was upset. I went to the bench and asked the judge to let me withdraw. And when I walked out, I had to grab Kleenex. I believe in the system and for the system to work there has to be complete transparency."

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The evidence that leveled the case arrived shortly after armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed’s conviction in March for the same charge Baldwin was facing. 

She had accidentally loaded a live round into the revolver Baldwin fired on set Oct. 21, 2021, which killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. 

Retired police Officer Troy Teske, a family friend of Gutierrez Reed’s father, walked into the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office and delivered a collection of rounds that he said came from Kenney and matched the bullet that killed Hutchins.

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During Friday's riveting hearing, it was revealed Teske was never interviewed and that Morrissey, in consultation with the lead investigators, decided not to inventory the evidence in the "Rust" file but instead under a different case number. 

As a result, the information was never given to the defense.

"I actually really appreciate Mr. Baldwin’s movies. I really appreciate it — the acting he did on ‘Saturday Night Live.' And I really appreciate his politics." 

— Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey testified

"So you, you all had discussions about what to do with what he dropped off?" Judge Marlowe Sommer asked lead investigator Cpl. Alexandra Hancock Friday.

"Yes," she replied.

"And you all agreed to put it in the separate file?" the judge pressed.  

"Yes," Hancock answered.

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In a desperate bid to salvage the dissolving case, Morrissey called herself as a witness and insisted the evidence wasn’t relevant and didn't benefit Baldwin.

"At the end of the day, the jury may have agreed with her," Johnson told Fox News Digital. "She really believed this evidence wasn’t relevant, but prosecutors don’t get to make that decision." 

Morrissey's risky gambit turned into a nationally televised spectacle as defense attorney Alex Spiro cross-examined her. 

She testified that Johnson resigned because she didn’t want the hearing to be public, a claim Johnson flatly denied. 

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Morrissey also tried to backpedal on an earlier statement to the court suggesting that the first time she became aware of Teske's evidence drop was that morning. 

"The truth of the matter is you don’t like Baldwin very much, do you?" Spiro asked, bringing the case to a conclusory crescendo.

Morrissey, it appeared, attempted to fend off that portrayal by drawing attention to their shared liberalism.

"You know, that is absolutely untrue. I actually really appreciate Mr. Baldwin’s movies. I really appreciate it — the acting he did on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ And I really appreciate his politics," she said.

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Spiro followed up by asking her whether she called Baldwin an "arrogant prick" and a series of other profane insults to witnesses she’d interviewed for the case. 

Repeatedly pausing to gather her thoughts, she said she didn’t recall the comments.

Johnson said she’s been practicing law for 28 years and had never seen a prosecutor voluntarily take the stand.

"That was incredibly unusual, and it was disappointing," Johnson added. "I just didn’t want to watch it.

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After the judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning prosecutors cannot charge Baldwin again, Morrissey spoke with the media outside the courthouse. 

"I'm disappointed because I believe that the importance of the evidence was misconstrued by the defense attorneys, but I have to respect the court's decision," she said.

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The stunning blow to the prosecution team, which had been working on the case for more than three years, arrived after the state had called only seven witnesses.