Two jurors in the Alec Baldwin trial told Variety they were leaning toward a guilty verdict when the involuntary manslaughter case was abruptly dismissed. Their views are at odds with those of three other jurors who told the New York Times and People that they had serious doubts about Baldwin’s guilt. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case on July 12, after learning that prosecutors had failed to provide the defense with evidence of a trove of bullets.
Baldwin could have faced up to 18 months in prison if convicted in the October 2021 shooting of “ Rust ” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at a film ranch near Santa Fe, N.M. The two jurors who spoke to Variety , Chris Montoya and Dennis Garcia, each said that they are gun owners, and had been taught that it is the handler’s responsibility to make sure that a gun is safe.
“Even if your friends are handing you a firearm for you to look at, you always clear that immediately,” said Garcia, who works as a plumber. “You make sure there’s nothing in it.” Montoya, who works for the New Mexico IT department, said he was not persuaded by the defense’s claim that Baldwin’s gun may have malfunctioned.
“It seemed like their whole defense was he didn’t pull the trigger, and the gun was possibly defective,” Montoya said. “I truly feel like neither one of those was the case.” The trial was supposed to last eight days, but jurors saw only the attorneys’ opening statements and two days of testimony before b.