New Mexico judge rejects Alec Baldwin's final pre-trial bid to dismiss Rust charges over damaged gun

A New Mexico judge on Friday rejected Emmy-award winning Alec Baldwin's latest attempt to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge against him, for his alleged role in the death of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Baldwin is expected to go to trial next month, over allegations he fired a gun on the set of the western film "Rust" in October of 2021, which killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. Baldwin, who has pleaded not guilty to the charge, maintains that he never pulled the trigger.

Baldwin's defense team argued that the judge Mary Marlowe Sommer should dismiss the case because the gun that Baldwin allegedly fired was accidentally damaged during forensic testing at an FBI lab, which they claim means Baldwin would not be subject to a fair trial. But prosecutors claimed the damage does not affect the validity of the trial.

Sommer rejected the defense's argument that the gun would have exonerated Baldwin, claiming they had not provided any evidence to support the assertion, according to NBC News.

“Evidence of a modification does not render an unaltered firearm potentially useful evidence without explanation as to how additional testing with the modification present might have exonerated Defendant,” the judge wrote, and added that the gun did not meet the "relatively low standard of potentially useful evidence."

Baldwin has previously admitted to pointing a loaded gun on set but has denied pulling the trigger. However, prosecutors claim they have a witness that was near Baldwin at the time of the incident who will testify that they saw the actor squeeze the trigger. Prosecutors have also claimed that the gun could not have fired without his pulling the trigger.

Jury selection for the trial will begin on July 9. If Baldwin is convicted, he could face up to 18 months in prison for the involuntary manslaughter charge. The movie's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is already serving an 18-month prison stint for her involuntary manslaughter conviction.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.