SANTA FE, United States — Live rounds were found in the cartridge belts of Alec Baldwin and another actor on the set of a Western movie that was the scene of a fatal shooting, a police technician testified Thursday at the trial of the Hollywood star.
Baldwin, 66, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the October 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of the movie “Rust.”
The actor — known for the television comedy “30 Rock” — was holding a prop revolver during a rehearsal in a church when it fired a live round, killing Hutchins and wounding the movie’s director.
Marissa Poppell, a crime scene technician, testified that a number of live rounds were mixed in with dummy rounds on the set of the movie being filmed in New Mexico, where the trial is taking place.
Poppell, under questioning from Baldwin’s attorney, Alex Spiro, on the second day of the trial said a live round was found in Baldwin’s bandolier.
“You had no reason to think that Mr. Baldwin had any idea that was there?” Spiro asked.
“Correct,” Poppell replied.
She said another actor on the set, Jensen Ackles, also had a live bullet in his bandolier and also had no reason to believe that he knew it was there either.
The jury was also shown photographs of ammunition boxes on a prop cart with live rounds mixed in with dummy bullets. The bullets are largely indistinguishable.
During opening arguments on Wednesday, prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson accused Baldwin of violating basic gun safety rules and playing “make-believe” with a deadly weapon.
Baldwin had behaved in “a reckless manner” and “without due regard for the safety of others” on set, Johnson said, allegedly failing to take weapons training seriously and regularly pointing firearms at people on set.
Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison if found guilty.
Spiro, whose other clients include Elon Musk and Jay-Z, said Baldwin had no reason to believe the gun might be loaded, and was not responsible as an actor for checking the weapon’s contents.
Armorer convicted
Hutchins, the victim, was originally from Ukraine, and her career as a Hollywood cinematographer was thriving when she was killed at the age of 42.
The tragedy occurred during a rehearsal in a small chapel on the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a historic location for Western movies, midway through the filming of “Rust.”
Baldwin was practicing a scene in which his outlaw character, trapped by two marshals, brandishes his Colt six-shooter.
In his opening arguments, Spiro focused blame on the movie’s safety officials, including armorer Hannah Gutierrez, for allowing live rounds to be brought on set.
Gutierrez was convicted by the same court this year and is serving an 18-month sentence.
It is not known if Baldwin will take the stand in his defense. Legal experts say it would be a risky move, exposing the allegedly temperamental actor to hostile cross-examination.
The trial is scheduled to conclude Friday of next week, with jury deliberations to follow.
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