ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – It was just three weeks ago when Alec Baldwin’s criminal trial came to a screeching halt in Santa Fe.

He was potentially facing jail time after the deadly shooting on the “Rust” film set back in 2021. But, in a shocking turn of events, Judge Mary Marlow Sommer dismissed the trial over some prosecutorial issues.

KOB 4 read through the judge’s final order, and it’s clear some big mistakes were made.

Baldwin’s case was ultimately dismissed because of a Brady violation. That is essentially when the prosecution withholds evidence that could benefit the defense and likely would’ve changed how the defense approaches the case.

When it comes to this case, that evidence was a box of bullets given to Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies shortly after a jury convicted the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed.

According to the judge’s written order, the prosecution inventoried those bullets outside of all the other evidence in the “Rust” case, effectively hiding them from Baldwin’s team.

According to the judge’s order, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued the bullets were not relevant to the case. The order also details false testimony provided by witnesses over this critical evidence.

The mishap convinced the other special prosecutor, Erlinda Johnson, to consider dropping the charges against Baldwin before ultimately stepping down from the case hours before the judge made her decision.

“I think the larger the overarching issue was disclosure and that making those bullets available to the defense and disclosing that report was really the issue,” said Johnson. 

Judge Sommer granted the defense’s motion to drop the case, saying, “the state’s discovery violations injected a needless, incurable delay into the jury trial.”

Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case is over, but the fallout from this decision is still to be seen. Baldwin has already signaled that he plans to sue the special prosecutor and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

Gutierrez Reed is requesting a new trial for Sommer to throw out her case on the same grounds.

Sommer sentenced her to 18 months in prison for her role in the deadly shooting, and her attorneys believe the mishandled evidence could’ve played a role in her outcome. 

It’s not clear when we’ll see any movement on Gutierrez Reed’s request. But it’s likely the “Rust” saga will continue for several more months, now almost three years after the deadly shooting.