New Mexico

Alec Baldwin’s high profile manslaughter trial thrown out by New Mexico judge

Published

2 years ago

July 12, 2024

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.

Hollywood star Alec Baldwin broke down in court after charges of involuntary manslaughter against him were dismissed (Court TV)

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.

Members of Baldwin’s family, including his wife Hilaria Baldwin (pictured) accompanied him to court throughout proceedings (AP)

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.

Judge Mary Marlowe Somner dismissed the case after finding that the state had withheld evidence that could have shed light on how live rounds got onto the set of the Rust movie (AP)

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.”

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer had been expected to testify Friday (Santa Fe New Mexican)

“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.

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New Mexico

New Mexico State women’s basketball’s 3 best March Madness moments

Published

3 hours ago

April 1, 2026

Press Room

New Mexico State women’s basketball’s 3 best March Madness moments

New Mexico State’s women’s basketball team has entered a new era with the hiring of Adeniyi Amadou as its new coach. He’ll try to take the Aggies back to the NCAA Tournament, where they appeared multiple times in the 1980s and 2010s.

NM State has six NCAA Tournaments, four conference tournament championships (all won as part of the Western Athletic Conference) and eight regular-season conference championships to its name in women’s basketball. The Aggies have reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament once in 1988, although that was when teams could receive first-round byes if they were a high enough seed (they were a No. 6 seed then and lost to Washington in their first NCAA Tournament game).

Let’s look back on some of those seasons. Here are the three best March Madness moments in NM State’s women’s basketball history:

First conference tournament win (2015)

NM State began its WAC dynasty in 2015.

The Aggies won their first-ever conference tournament in women’s basketball in the 2015 WAC Tournament. NM State was the regular-season conference champion and earned the No. 1 seed and a bye to the semifinals of the WAC Tournament as a result. The Aggies went 2-0 to secure a conference tournament championship.

Bolstered by 22 points from Sasha Weber and 16 rebounds from Brianna Freeman, NM State pulled out a 79-75 overtime win in the semifinals over Seattle. Another 20 points from Weber helped the Aggies win the WAC Tournament championship game 70-52 over UT-Pan American (which has since merged with UT-Brownsville to form UTRGV) and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988. Freeman was named the WAC Tournament MVP.

Three in a row (2017)

The Aggies would then make it three consecutive WAC Tournament championships two years later.

NM State entered the 2017 WAC Tournament with a perfect 14-0 conference record, and it kept that unbeaten run going. The Aggies defeated UMKC (now referred to as Kansas City) 71-63 in the semifinals thanks to four players scoring in double figures, including Moriah Mack’s 21 points in 40 minutes of action. NM State then took down Seattle 63-48 in the championship game off the back of a double-double from Tamera William at 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Mack won the WAC Tournament MVP that year. She scored 18 points against the Redhawks in the championship game. It was the third and final WAC Tournament championship for then-coach Mark Trakh before he joined USC.

Resilience in overtime (2019)

Another regular-season conference championship wasn’t enough in 2018, as the Aggies lost to Seattle in the semifinals. But NM State got back on its perch in the WAC in the following year.

Guided by second-year coach Brooke Atkinson, the Aggies needed two overtime victories to win the 2019 WAC Tournament after defeating Chicago State in the quarterfinals (the WAC Tournament went from seven to eight teams starting in 2018, with no byes to the semifinals). The first one came in a 91-80 win over UMKC after NM State allowed just five points in overtime. The Aggies were forced into double overtime during the championship game against UTRGV, which ended with a 76-73 win.

Gia Pack scored 86 points across the WAC Tournament, including 36 against UMKC, to win the tournament’s MVP. Brooke Salas scored a team-high 29 points in the championship game.

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New Mexico

‘Just incredibly creative’: Tinkertown near Albuquerque prepares for the season

Published

15 hours ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

‘Just incredibly creative’: Tinkertown near Albuquerque prepares for the season

BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) — Wood carvings, glass bottles, and other odds and ends help make up an art museum tucked away on Sandia Crest Road. It all started over 40 years ago with a man aiming to be as creative, as curious, and as open to experience as possible – Ross Ward.

“I often describe a walk through the museum as kind of walking through the head and the heart of my dad… You begin to understand that this person was very passionate, very curious, very excited, and just incredibly creative,” said Ross’s daughter, Tanya Ward Goodman. “And it inspired you to do the same.”

Tinkertown is an artist-built environment that first opened its doors in 1983. There you can find animated miniature figures, various artifacts from Ross’s travels, and thousands of glass bottles, among much more. The spot has been around for quite a bit now, but they’ve recently made an exciting new change that’s been in the works for years.

“We have turned the entire museum into a 501(c)(3),” said Tanya. “And our mission is to preserve and protect the work and the artistic legacy of Ross Ward and translate his vision into a rousing call to live a more creative and colorful life.” Tanya added that it “has always been a little bit of a self-sustaining enterprise… the fact that all proceeds already went into the operation and management of the museum, it really isn’t a huge leap for us.”

Their main goal as a non-profit? To ramp up art and writing workshops while encouraging rural collaboration between New Mexico artists. It’s also a way to potentially bring more helping hands to the museum.

“My dad died in 2002. He had early onset Alzheimer’s. He was diagnosed at 57, and he died at 62. And my stepmother, Carla Ward, has been running the museum since his death, and she’s getting to a place where she would like to retire or take some steps back,” said Tanya. “I think she’ll always be involved because she loves it and it’s been such a deep labor of love on her part… We had been sort of exploring different options and thinking about how to keep the museum open while also having some sort of retirement for her, and we would need to bring in extra people.”

The change comes in time for Tinkertown’s 2026 season opening on Friday, April 3, with a grand opening celebration on Sunday, April 5 – Ross’s birthday. There will be live music, cake, book signings, and more. “I wrote a memoir called ‘Leaving Tinkertown’ that was published by the University of New Mexico Press,” said Tanya. “I will be signing books. University of New Mexico Press will sell that book. We have other books about Tinkertown. Other authors will be there.”

As for the 2026 season overall, Tinkertown hopes to see more familiar faces and new faces alike come through the doors. “People come from not only all over New Mexico and the rest of the U.S., but all over the world,” said Tanya. “We have a huge map and there are, by the end of the season, there are colored pins in almost every continent and country in the world… I think what I hope that they learn is just that if you have an idea and an interest that you can follow that and wonderful things will happen.”

You can learn more about Tinkertown on their website.

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New Mexico

Warm weather around New Mexico for now, but stormier & cooler tomorrow

Published

1 day ago

March 31, 2026

Press Room

Warm weather around New Mexico for now, but stormier & cooler tomorrow

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Mostly mild air has started off across the region with morning temperatures being warmer than average. Clouds are passing through with moisture aloft coming in from the Pacific. Despite the drop in the jet stream compared to last week, the southwesterly flow with mostly dry surface conditions will lead to very mild air this afternoon before rain chances increase.

Air temperatures in the north are starting off from around the high 20s to the 40s, while elsewhere to the southwest, air temperatures are ranging from around the upper 30s to near 60°.

Many areas from eastern New Mexico to the Pecos River Valley area will range from the high 60s to around 90°, from north-northwest to south-southeast from high to low elevation. Southwesterly winds are set to go up, over, and down more of the northeast-sloped mountain faces out west will contribute to warm surface air and some gusty surface conditions. The northern higher elevations will mostly range from the upper 30s to the 50s, while the northern valley floors to western and central areas will mostly range from the 60s to the 80s.

More clouds will move in on top of the very mild surface conditions, leading to more isolated pockets of rainfall, as dry thunderstorms may spark up more fires. Stronger winds from the approaching system will elevate the fire threat even more tomorrow in southeastern areas. However, the drop in the jet stream will bring in better rain chances late today into the first half of tomorrow, with mountain peak snow, as well as colder air.

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