Condition Destroyed Gun from ‘Rust’ shooting

Alec Baldwin is charged with the manslaughter of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins (above right) on the set of Rust (below right).

Actor Alec Baldwin’s attorney told a judge Thursday that the New Mexico government destroyed the firearm used in the fatal “Rust” shooting that killed the film’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

Baldwin’s attorney, Alex Spiro, indirectly described the surprising development during a virtual hearing on Thursday.

“I think I should tell the court that the gun in this case, that’s a big issue, was destroyed by the state,” Spiro noted.

“So that’s obviously a problem,” he remarked coolly, with a degree of understatement.

Spiro said he would like to see this gun – “or what’s left of it”.

The revelation passed during a short, 15-minute status conference held virtually via video and streamed on the court’s YouTube page.

After Spiro’s disclosure, the court turned to mundane planning matters, leaving the importance of the “destroyed,” but seemingly critical piece of evidence hanging over future trials. The lawyer did not provide any indications as to who allegedly destroyed the weapon, when the incident occurred and why it happened. Baldwin’s legal team also did not specify what remedial actions they would seek as a result.

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies never denied the claim at any point during the proceedings.

Only after the trial did a spokesman for the First Judicial District prosecutor deny the statement.

That spokeswoman, Heather Brewer, told Fox News Digital that the gun was “not destroyed by the state.”

“The gun used by Alec Baldwin in the shooting that killed Halyna Hutchins was not destroyed by the state. The weapon is in evidence and available for the defense to review,” Brewer told the news agency.

“The defense’s unexpected statement in today’s status hearing that the weapon was destroyed by the state may be a reference to a statement in the FBI’s July 2022 firearms test report that damage was caused to internal components of the gun during the FBI’s functional testing.” However, the gun still exists and can be used as evidence,” she added.

On January 19, 2023, Baldwin and “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were charged with involuntary manslaughter for their alleged role in the tragic October 21, 2021 shooting. Both deny any criminal responsibility for the events, but prosecutors claim that if it weren’t for them, Hutchins would still be alive.

As the case prepares for trial, the two won a significant victory after prosecutors dropped a sentence increase that raised the possibility of a five-year sentence over their heads. Baldwin successfully argued that the amendment was unconstitutional, citing a law that was revised long after filming began in late 2021.

After Reed joined Baldwin’s motion, prosecutors voluntarily withdrew the amendment, claiming it would “avoid further contentious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys.” Baldwin’s attorneys speared these public beatings in extraordinary response to her “meritorious motion.”

But Baldwin’s pretrial is ongoing.

The “Beetlejuice” actor has attempted to disqualify special prosecutor Andrea Reeb, arguing that the New Mexico constitution prohibits her from playing a judicial role while serving as a Republican lawmaker in the state House of Representatives.

“Under Section 1 of Article III of the New Mexico Constitution, however, an incumbent member of the legislature may not exercise any powers properly vested in the executive branch or the judicial branch,” Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas wrote in a Feb. 7 motion to disqualify himself also joins Reed’s legal team.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer of New Mexico has scheduled a hearing on the motion for March 27.

A preliminary examination is scheduled for May.

The film’s assistant director, David Halls, signed a yet-to-be-announced plea agreement on another charge: negligent use of a deadly weapon, which would result in the AD being given a suspended sentence and six months’ probation. This deal is not public yet.

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