US actor Alec Baldwin is facing an involuntary manslaughter trial in early July after a judge denied a request to dismiss the case on complaints that key evidence was damaged by the FBI during forensic testing.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sided with prosecutors in rejecting a motion to dismiss the case.
Defence attorneys argued that the gun in the fatal shooting was heavily damaged during FBI testing before it could be examined for possible modifications or problems that might exonerate the actor and producer.
The ruling removes one of the last hurdles before prosecutors can bring the case to trial.
During a rehearsal on the set of the Western film Rust in 2021, Baldwin pointed a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer but not the trigger and has pleaded not guilty.
The FBI conducted an accidental discharge test on the gun by striking it from several angles with a mallet, eventually breaking the gun.
Prosecutors plan to present evidence at trial that they say shows the firearm “could not have fired absent a pull of the trigger” and was working properly before the shooting.
Baldwin has twice been charged over Hutchins’ death. Prosecutors dismissed an earlier charge, then refiled it after receiving a new analysis of the revolver that Baldwin pointed at Hutchins.
Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is serving an 18-month sentence after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting. She is appealing the jury’s verdict.
Judge Marlowe Sommer said that destruction of internal components of the firearm “is not highly prejudicial” to a fair trial.
While Baldwin “contends that an unaltered firearm is critical to his case, other evidence concerning the functionality of the firearm on October 21 2021 weighs against the defendant’s assertions,” the judge wrote.