The jury has been dismissed for the day in Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter trial while the court discusses a motion filed by the defense claiming live ammunition that came into the hands of local law enforcement related to the investigation into the deadly on-set “Rust” shooting was “concealed” from them.
In an expedited motion filed late Thursday, the defense argued the case should be dismissed over the handling of the ammunition evidence. During court on Friday, the state argued the evidence has no exculpatory value and is not relevant to Baldwin’s case.
The court is on break before hearing anticipated testimony on the matter, including from Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Alexandra Hancock, the lead detective in the case, and Seth Kenney, the film’s ammunition supplier.
The matter was initially raised during court on Thursday, the second day of the actor’s involuntary manslaughter trial over the death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was fatally shot by Baldwin on the Santa Fe set of the Western in October 2021 when his revolver fired a live round.
Spiro asked state’s witness Marissa Poppell, a crime scene technician with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office who collected evidence in the case, about a “good Samaritan” who handed over ammunition to the sheriff’s office in March — at the conclusion of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez’s trial — that had reportedly ended up with Kenney.
Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death, with prosecutors arguing the armorer was the source of the live bullet that killed her and saying she failed to follow safety protocols meant to protect the crew while handling the firearms.
Poppell testified that her lieutenant instructed her to create a report documenting that the individual came and gave them the ammunition and she filed it under a case number different from the “Rust” case.
Alec Baldwin attends his trial for involuntary manslaughter at Santa Fe County District Court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on July 12, 2024.
Ramsay De Give/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
“You buried it,” Spiro said.
“No,” Poppell responded. “There is a supplemental report on it, and that was placed into evidence.”
Spiro went on to ask, “Isn’t it the case that law enforcement likely has the matching rounds to the ammunition that killed Ms. Hutchins?”
“I do not know,” Poppell said.
“And you do not know because you made a doc report about this and did not put it with the rest of the ‘Rust’ evidence, correct?” Spiro asked.
“Those rounds were not placed with the rest of the ‘Rust’ evidence, correct,” Poppell said.
“Nor were they sent to the FBI for testing with the ‘Rust’ evidence, were they?” Spiro asked.
“No, they were not,” Poppell said.
During redirect on Thursday, prosecutor Kari Morrissey had Poppell confirm that Baldwin has not been charged with involuntary manslaughter for bringing live rounds onto the movie set or for loading a live round into the gun.
“Has a person already been tried and convicted for those things?” Morrissey asked.
“Yes,” Poppell said, referring to Gutierrez.
Alec Baldwin speaks with his wife Hilaria Baldwin during his trial on involuntary manslaughter at Santa Fe County District Court, July 12, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M.
Ramsay De Give/Pool via Reuters
Morrissey asked Poppell if she was aware that the “good Samaritan” who provided the ammunition in question in the motion was Troy Teske, a “close friend” of Gutierrez’s father, famed Hollywood armorer Thell Reed, to which Poppell said she was not.
“Are you aware that Troy Teske had his own motivations for wanting to place blame on Seth Kenney to help Hannah Gutierrez?” Morrissey asked.
“No, I had no knowledge of that,” Poppell said.
Poppell testified that Kenney provided the sheriff’s office with his own live rounds, which were tested and found not to match the live ammunition found on set. Live ammunition found at Kenney’s prop house was also not found to be a match, she said.
Poppell testified that Gutierrez was determined to be the source of the live rounds, based on photographic evidence from the set.
During Friday’s motion hearing, Morrissey said the state initially had been provided a photograph of the ammunition by Teske, a retired officer who lives in Arizona, and determined based on the photograph that it was not a match to the live ammunition found on the set and they were “not going to continue going down this rabbit hole.”
“There is absolutely nothing about the ammunition that Troy Teske had that has any evidentiary value in the Gutierrez case. It has no evidentiary value in the Baldwin case,” Morrissey said.
Defense attorney Luke Nikas charged that the evidence was “concealed” by being placed under a different case number and said it was “critical” evidence that was required to be disclosed.
“Miss Morrissey does not get to determine what has evidentiary value and what doesn’t,” he said.
Poppell disputed that the ammunition was hidden during testimony on Friday and said it wasn’t evidence that Kenney provided the live ammunition to the set of “Rust.”
“If you buried it, how did the defense attorneys know to cross-examine you on it yesterday?” Morrissey asked Poppell.
“I do not know,” she replied.
Gutierrez’s attorney, Jason Bowles, said it was “beyond shocking’ that the live rounds provided to the sheriff’s office weren’t tested.
“They were hiding the ball until called out on it in trial. If you want to get to the truth, you run down all leads,” he said in a statement.
On the third day of the highly publicized trial of actor Alec Baldwin, a surprising turn of events occurred when the defense team filed a motion to dismiss the case over new evidence related to the ammunition used in the fatal shooting on the film set of “Rust.” The motion led to the dismissal of the jury and a halt in proceedings as both sides prepared to argue the validity of the evidence.
The motion to dismiss was based on the discovery of new information regarding the type of ammunition used in the gun that Baldwin was handling during the incident. The defense team argued that this new evidence could potentially exonerate Baldwin and prove that he was not at fault for the tragic accident that resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
The prosecution, however, contested the motion, claiming that the evidence was not relevant to the case and should not be grounds for dismissal. They argued that Baldwin’s negligence in handling the firearm was still a key factor in determining his culpability in Hutchins’ death.
As both sides prepared to present their arguments to the judge, it became clear that the case was far from being resolved. The unexpected turn of events left many wondering what impact this new evidence could have on the outcome of the trial and whether Baldwin would ultimately be held responsible for the tragedy that occurred on the film set.
The dismissal of the jury on the third day of the trial was a setback for both the prosecution and the defense, as they now have to regroup and strategize for the next phase of the legal proceedings. The fate of Alec Baldwin hangs in the balance as the case continues to unfold, with new evidence potentially shifting the course of the trial.
As the public awaits further developments in this high-profile case, one thing is certain: the discussion of the motion to dismiss over ammo evidence has added a new layer of complexity to an already complicated legal battle. Only time will tell how this new evidence will impact the outcome of Alec Baldwin’s trial and whether justice will be served for all parties involved.
