SANTA FE, N.M.—A New Mexico judge plans to rule Friday on a request to dismiss the sole charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer over concerns the FBI damaged the firearm during forensic testing before defense attorneys could examine it.
Defense attorneys for Alec Baldwin have asked Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer to scuttle the case against Mr. Baldwin ahead of what would be a high-profile trial starting in July. Mr.
Baldwin’s legal team has requested that, if the trial moves forward, the judge should at least prohibit presentation of an analysis of the gun using replacement parts by a firearms expert for the prosecution. They say investigators may have destroyed potentially exculpatory evidence while testing whether the gun might accidentally discharge without a pull of the trigger. During a film-set rehearsal on Oct.
21, 2021, Mr. Baldwin was pointing the gun at Halyna Hutchins when it went off, killing her, and wounding director Joel Souza, who survived. Mr.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison. Sheriff’s investigators initially sent the revolver to the FBI for routine testing, but when an FBI analyst heard Mr. Baldwin say in an ABC TV interview that he never pulled the trigger, the agency told local authorities they could conduct an accidental discharge test, though it might damage the gun.
The FBI was told by a team of investigators to go ahead, and tes.
