Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, who expressed confidence in the manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin, stated that the case should be dismissed due to evidence being withheld.
A special prosecutor who stepped down from Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter case on Friday said she resigned because she believed the state should have voluntarily dismissed the case.
Later that day, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be refiled.
Baldwin, 66, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust” in 2021. Hutchins was killed when Baldwin handled a revolver intended as a prop. In March, “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, who had accused Baldwin of recklessness, said she realized the prosecution’s case was in jeopardy on Friday upon discovering that some rounds had not been disclosed to the defense.
Ocampo Johnson resigned and left the court on Friday before a hearing could be completed to determine whether the undisclosed evidence warranted the dismissal of Baldwin’s case, as his lawyers argued.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey stated in court that Erlinda Ocampo Johnson resigned partly because she disagreed with the decision to hold a public hearing. Ocampo Johnson believed no hearing should have taken place, asserting, “I believed that the right decision would have been a dismissal.”
When asked if there was resistance to her recommendation, Ocampo Johnson said, “I wouldn’t say ‘push-back,’ it was ‘go forward with the case.’”
Baldwin’s attorneys requested the judge to dismiss the case after it was disclosed that Troy Teske, a former police officer and friend of Gutierrez-Reed’s stepfather, delivered Colt .45-caliber rounds to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on March 6, the day of Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction. Defense attorneys argued they should have been informed about these rounds.
Morrissey contended that the disputed ammunition was unrelated to the case and had not been concealed from Baldwin’s lawyers. She said, “There is no reason to believe that the evidence discussed in court today was related to the set of ‘Rust.’” Though she disagreed with the judge’s decision, she respected it. Morrissey did not immediately respond to requests for further comment on the case.
Ocampo Johnson maintained confidence in the criminal case against Baldwin and was prepared to present evidence that showed Baldwin mishandled the firearm in the days before Hutchins was killed. She emphasized that industry guidelines require firearms to never be pointed at people and to always be treated as if loaded.
“I believed in the case,” she said. “Because I do believe — obviously there’s a woman who was killed. There was some reckless behavior on the set.” She also stated that determining the relevance of evidence is the defense attorneys’ responsibility, not the prosecutors’.
Ocampo Johnson did not believe any evidence was deliberately withheld, saying, “I don’t think it was intentional. I really do not believe that. I think it was just something that — it wasn’t turned over, and it should have been.”
Following the dismissal of Baldwin’s case, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, Jason Bowles, announced plans to seek her immediate release. Ocampo Johnson, who was not involved in Gutierrez-Reed’s prosecution, doubted the disputed ammunition would aid in overturning her conviction but reiterated that the evidence should have been disclosed in Baldwin’s case.