New Mexico
Alec Baldwin’s high profile manslaughter trial thrown out by New Mexico judge
Alec Baldwin wept in court after his high-profile criminal trial, in which he faced involuntary manslaughter charges over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, was thrown out by a New Mexico judge.
The case was dismissed on Friday after it was found that the state had withheld evidence that could have shed light on how live rounds got onto the set of the Rust movie, where the young cinematographer was fatally shot.
“There is no way for the court to right this wrong,” Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said in court adding that dismissal of the case was needed to ensure “the integrity of the judicial system.”
“The late discovery of this evidence during trial has impeded the effective use of evidence in such a way that it has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings,” Marlowe Sommer said. “If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith it certainly comes so near to bad faith to show signs of scorching.”
Baldwin, 66, became visibly emotional, holding his head in his hands and embracing his lawyer. He then turned around and embraced his wife, Hilaria Baldwin. Baldwin climbed into an SUV outside the Santa Fe courthouse and left without speaking to the media.
The decision was announced during a hearing after the jury had been dismissed for the weekend.
Sommer paused the trial earlier on Friday while she considered the defense motion to dismiss the case over the evidence. The prosecution said that the ammunition was not connected to the case and was not hidden.
The issue emerged on Thursday on the second day of the actor’s trial during defense questioning of the sheriff’s crime scene technician Marissa Poppell.
Baldwin lawyer Alex Spiro asked whether a “good Samaritan” had come into the sheriff’s office with the ammunition earlier this year at the end of the trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, for her role in Hutchins’ death.
The evidence was not put into the same file as the rest of the “Rust” case and was not presented to Baldwin’s defense team when they examined the ballistics evidence in April.
The man who supplied ammunition was a close friend of Gutierrez-Reed’s father, movie armorer Thell Reed. Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued that the move from the men was part of an attempt by Reed to shift blame away from his daughter.
“This is a wild goose chase that has no evidentiary value whatsoever,” Morrissey told the judge on Friday. “This is just a man trying to protect his daughter.” Judge Marlowe disagreed.
As well as his wife, members of Baldwin’s family, including his younger brother Stephen Baldwin and older sister Elizabeth Keuchler — have been present in the courtroom to support him throughout proceedings, and also became emotional after the case was dismissed.
Nearly three years have passed since a prop gun Baldwin was holding went off during a rehearsal of the film’s shooting scene in 2021, striking and killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
The star and co-producer of the Western was pointing a revolver at Hutchins during a rehearsal in a small church on the movie set at Bonanza Creek Ranch when the incident occurred. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the gun fired.
He was charged with a single felony count of involuntary manslaughter and faced 18 months in prison, an idea that sent shockwaves through the show business industry. The career of the “Hunt for Red October” and “30 Rock” star and frequent “Saturday Night Live” host — who has been a household name for more than three decades — was briefly cast into doubt.
Baldwin has continuously maintained his innocence and said in a previous interview with ABC News, and implied in interviews with authorities, that he never pulled the revolver’s trigger.
He and other producers still face civil lawsuits from Hutchins’ parents and sister.
Speaking outside the courthouse doors, Morrissey said she respected the judge’s decision but that there was no reason to believe the undisclosed evidence in question was related to the set of “Rust.”
“The importance of the evidence was misconstrued by the defense attorneys,” she said. “We did everything humanly possible to bring justice to Halyna and to her family and we’re proud of the work we did.”
Gutierrez-Reed herself had been expected to testify Friday, but her testimony was delayed. She was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 months in prison earlier this year, though is appealing the verdict.
After news of the Baldwin trial collapse on Friday, lawyers for the armorer said they would also be seeking to have charges against her dismissed.
“The judge found intentional misconduct and we also have had the same failures in Hannah’s case, by the State. We will be moving for dismissal of Hannah’s case,” said Jason Bowles, the attorney for Gutierrez-Reed.
The family of Halyna Hutchins also issued a statement through their lawyer.
“We respect the court’s decision. We look forward to presenting all the evidence to a jury and holding Mr. Baldwin accountable for his actions in the senseless death of Halyna Hutchins,” it read.
New Mexico
14 indicted in alleged Permian Basin crude‑oil theft scheme spanning New Mexico and Texas, prosecutors say
A federal grand jury in Lubbock has indicted 14 people accused of stealing crude oil in eastern New Mexico and hauling it into Texas to resell at cut‑rate prices.
Prosecutors say the scheme targeted the Permian Basin’s vast production network, the oil‑rich region spanning southeastern New Mexico and West Texas that covers more than 86,000 square miles and accounts for the majority of U.S. crude oil production.
All 14 defendants are charged with conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines, and several also face counts of interstate transportation and receipt, possession, or sale of stolen property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Indictment outlines alleged operation
Returned April 8, the indictment alleges the group stole crude oil in eastern New Mexico, some stored on U.S. government-leased land, and resold it to co‑conspirators at prices below the standard U.S. market benchmark.
Prosecutors say the conspirators transported the stolen oil into Texas for resale at a profit, knowing it was stolen.
Texas, New Mexico defendants identified by prosecutors
Texas defendants are James Darrell Reid, 65, and Randell Wayne Reid, 41, owners of Texas-based Reidco Enterprises and both of Electra – about 25 miles northwest of Wichita Falls and 115 miles from Fort Worth – along with Christopher Frederick Harris, 22, of Seminole, about 80 miles west of Midland.
The remaining 11 defendants are from Lovington, a southeastern New Mexico community of about 11,690 people, roughly 20 miles west of the Texas state line and squarely inside the Permian Basin.
They include:
- Louis George Edgett, 68;
- Brenden Floyd Strickland, 25;
- Sixto Herrera-Estebane, 43;
- Gyardo Gonzalez, 47;
- Jesus Martin Hernandez-Borja, 51;
- Diana Marquez Rojo, 45;
- Jose Luis Rojo, 49;
- Jose Mario Rivas-Mendoza, 37;
- Miguel A. Soto, 41;
- Tavares Montrail Cole, 48; and
- Danny Dale Brown Jr., 42.
Potential penalties outlined by DOJ
According to prosecutors, the defendants face up to five years in prison for conspiracy and up to 10 years per count for interstate transportation, possession, or sale of stolen property.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Land Management, the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Division, and sheriff’s offices in Lea and Eddy counties in New Mexico.
CBS News Texas will provide updates as additional information becomes available.
New Mexico
Governor establishes Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council – 13-member council designed to protect ratepayers, modernize the grid – Office of the Governor – Michelle Lujan Grisham
SANTA FE — Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham today signed an executive order establishing the New Mexico Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council to address the rising cost of electricity in a rapidly changing energy landscape.
The Council will convene state agency leaders, utility executives and experts in rural cooperative utilities, tribal energy, consumer advocacy, and energy policy and infrastructure to develop strategies for keeping energy affordable while ensuring the grid can meet the demands of a growing, modernizing New Mexico economy.
“At a time of dramatically rising energy prices, it’s imperative that we do everything we can to protect New Mexico ratepayers while ensuring abundant clean energy supply,” said Governor Lujan Grisham. “The experts I’ve appointed to the New Mexico Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council are well-positioned to make smart, insightful recommendations and I look forward to their findings.”
The Council will evaluate and recommend strategies across four interconnected areas:
- Ratepayer protection: Ensuring that large-load growth — including data centers and onshore manufacturing — does not disproportionately increase costs for residential, rural, tribal and small business customers.
- Grid modernization and reliability: Recommending rate designs and financing strategies that enable prudent infrastructure investment while minimizing long-term rate escalation.
- Clean energy progress: Advancing New Mexico’s net-zero goals under the Energy Transition Act by expanding zero-carbon generation and storage while maintaining affordable access.
- Permitting efficiency: Identifying opportunities to streamline and coordinate state and local permitting for electricity infrastructure — accelerating deployment of clean energy projects without compromising environmental review, tribal consultation, or regulatory safeguards.
The Council will deliver a final report — including legislative, regulatory and administrative recommendations — to the Governor and the Legislature by November 1, 2026.
The Council consists of 13 members representing state government, utilities, rural cooperatives, tribal communities and independent experts:
- Erin Taylor, acting secretary, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department
- Rob Black, secretary, Economic Development Department
- Cholla Khoury, chief of staff, Public Regulation Commission
- Lynn Mostoller, executive director, Renewable Energy Transmission Authority
- Sunalei Stewart, deputy commissioner for operations, State Land Office
- Don Tarry, president and CEO, TXNM Energy (PNM)
- Kelly A. Tomblin, president and CEO, El Paso Electric
- Zoe Lees, regional vice president, regulatory policy, Xcel Energy
- Vince Martinez, CEO, New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association
- Javier Bucobo, vice president of markets and regulatory affairs, Avangrid (grid infrastructure expert)
- Joseph Yar, attorney, Velarde & Yar (consumer/ratepayer advocate)
- Sandra Begay Keeto, retired, Sandia National Laboratories; member, Navajo Nation (tribal energy expert)
- Rep. Meredith Dixon, New Mexico House of Representatives, District 20 (energy policy expert)
The Council is administratively attached to the Department of Finance and Administration. Members will serve without compensation, other than per diem and mileage as permitted by law.
The executive order can be viewed here.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Republican candidate for governor Duke Rodriguez is suing Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham over her executive order that started universal free child care before a new law takes effect.
The governor enacted the program through executive order in November.
Lawmakers passed a universal child care law during the past session, but that law does not take effect until May 20.
Rodriguez says he objects to some of the rules and to how the governor started the program. The suit asks the Second Judicial District Court to prohibit further enforcement of any regulations tied to the program.
“You could understand an outgoing governor trying to do it for political capital, for expediency just to say, I’m first in the nation.” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez says he is confident he will win and that the rules he is challenging will be struck down.
“We also now have what we call pre emptive eligibility, which means you don’t even have to prove you’re eligible and you’re covered the moment you walk in,” Rodriguez said. “All of those things individually and collectively that have been proposed and changed probably invite fraud, waste and abuse and you know it.”
The governor’s office responds
The governor’s office sent a statement saying the program was properly implemented and that the governor is confident the lawsuit will be rejected.
A spokesperson for the governor sent KOB 4 the following statement:
“This lawsuit makes clear that Mr. Rodriguez has a fundamental misunderstanding how state government works. He states that ECECD did not have the authority to undergo rulemaking regarding universal childcare. They do. He states that ECECD did not have the funding to implement the program when they did their rulemaking. They did. That is why the program was operational in December – before the 2026 Legislative session started. Perhaps more importantly, the lawsuit ignores that the legislature passed SB 241, which codified the program and its future funding into law. The governor is confident that the courts will reject his meritless claims.“
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