Alec Baldwin's Trial Paused Amid Ammunition Evidence Dispute

Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial was halted as the judge reviews a defense motion to dismiss the case over contested ammunition. The defense claims that key evidence was hidden by the prosecution. The motion arose during the questioning of a crime scene technician and involves allegations against the film's firearm supplier.

Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial was put on hold Friday, as the judge reviews a defense motion to dismiss the case over disputed ammunition evidence.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sent the jury home for the day following a hearing that raised additional questions and called for further testimony outside the presence of the jurors.

The defense argues that the prosecution withheld ammunition evidence potentially linked to the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on the set of 'Rust.' The issue emerged Thursday during the defense interrogation of sheriff's crime scene technician Marissa Poppell. Baldwin's lawyer, Alex Spiro, suggested that Poppell and other authorities may have been too lenient with the film’s firearms supplier, Seth Kenney, insufficiently investigating his potential involvement in the fatal ammunition reaching the set.

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey, in turn, established that the source of the ammunition was Troy Teske, a friend of Gutierrez-Reed's father, and that despite some similarities, the bullets were not the same size as the live rounds found on the 'Rust' set, including the one that killed Hutchins.