‘Rust’ trial: Live bullets also found in actor Jensen Ackles’ prop holster

globalnews.ca:

Jurors on Thursday heard testimony from a crime scene technician who alleged live bullets were found in several places on the Rust set, including inside a prop holster carried by actor Jensen Ackles.

As Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial continues in Santa Fe, N.M., technician Marissa Poppell said the live bullets inside the gun carried by Baldwin were not the only ones present on the western movie set.

Baldwin, 66, is on trial over the October 2021 on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed by a bullet fired from Baldwin’s gun as he rehearsed in front of a camera. The shot discharged from the Colt .45 also injured Rust writer and director Joel Souza.

Poppell said live ammunition was discovered inside Baldwin’s gun, on a prop cart, in a box of ammo and in two separate bandoliers, one of which was worn by Ackles, 46. The second bandolier was worn by Baldwin.

The crime scene technician said she had no reason to believe Ackles knew the bullets in his costume bandolier were legitimate. He had, however, been carrying them in the holster while acting on set.

Baldwin’s defence lawyer Alex Spiro grilled Poppell over search warrants served on both a prop truck a week after the death of Hutchins and a prop warehouse more than a month after the shooting.

The questions eventually led to Spiro asking Poppell whether police and prosecutors “were just trying to get this over with so that prosecutors could focus on Alec Baldwin?”

Poppell said that was not the case.

Poppell said there was evidence Hannah Gutierrez-Reed — the film’s armourer who has already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting — brought the live ammunition to set, which she said was given to her by her father.