Alec Baldwin 'Rust' Trial Day 2: Gun Manufacturer, Crime Scene Tech And More Give Testimony

Thursday, July 11, marked the second day of witness testimony in the Alec Baldwin "Rust" trial.

The "30 Rock" actor faces charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the October 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film.

Wednesday featured opening statements and first witness statements from police officers who were the first to arrive on the scene.

Crime scene tech Marisa Poppell continued to give her testimony since Wednesday night. She was grilled by Alec Baldwin's attorney, Alex Spiro, about the evidence that she collected on the set of "Rust" after the shooting. Poppell said that investigators found live ammunition in a bandolier that actor Jensen Ackles was wearing for the scene, but agreed with Spiro's assertion that the "Supernatural" actor did not know that he was carrying live ammunition on his person, since it was part of his costume.

Poppell also agreed that there should never be live ammunition on a movie set. Although prosecutors alleged that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed mixed up dummy rounds and live ammunition, it is still unclear how the live ammunition ended up on a movie set. On Wednesday night, Poppell did admit that investigators found live ammunition at the props facility in Albuquerque that provided ammunition for the film: PDQ Arm and Prop, LLC. The company is owned by Seth Kenney, a friend of armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's father, veteran armorer Thell Reed.

In March, it took a jury less than three hours to find Hannah Gutierrez-Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter and she was sentenced to the state maximum of 18 months behind bars. She has filed an appeal.

Spiro got Poppell to admit under oath that she did not search every single box at Seth Kenney's warehouse, which consisted of four rooms. She did, however, insist that they did a "reasonable" search of the property in order to find the live ammunition that was identical to the bullet found on the set of "Rust."

Spiro also grilled Poppell about the police department's decision to send the gun Alec Baldwin used in the shooting to the FBI for a "drop test." The test would determine whether or not the gun could be fired without the trigger being pulled, as Baldwin had claimed. Spiro said that the FBI sent an email notifying her and others in the department that doing the test would modify the physical condition of the gun, to which Spiro expressed her agreement.

The second witness on Thursday was Alessandro Pietta, the Italian manufacturer of the gun used in the shooting. The State of New Mexico referred to Pietta as “an expert in the manufacturing and quality control procedures of the Pietta revolver used by Mr. Baldwin” in court documents obtained by The Blast.

Although Pietta testified that the gun was in good condition when it left their manufacturing facility, Baldwin’s lawyers had previously objected to his ability to serve as a witness, since he would not know the state of the gun on the day of the shooting. Although the gun was “shipped in proper order,” Baldwin’s legal team argued that “His only knowledge of the firearm is that it was a show gun manufactured by Pietta.”

However, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer decided to allow him to testify. Pietta went into detail as to how the gun was created and the quality control measures that are in place to guarantee that the gun was working properly before it left their facility.

Under questioning, Pietta said that the single-action revolver would only fire with the trigger being pulled. Alec Baldwin has frequently stated prior to the trial that he pulled the hammer back, but did not pull the trigger. However, Baldwin's lawyer Alex Spiro got Pietta to admit that he had not seen the gun since the beginning of 2018.

Pietta also admitted that he was not asked about the gun following the shooting. Although he admits to personally making the gun, he said that he was not asked to inspect the gun. Instead, it was sent to the FBI for testing. After the FBI testing, Pietta says that he was shown a photo of the gun over Zoom, but had never gotten a chance to see the gun in person until appearing in court.

The next witness was Justin Neal, who introduced himself as the head of a marketing firm. He explained that he handles sales and marketing for Pietta. Neal handles the sales of the firearm through distribution and said that they had a federal firearms license to sell the gun. Neal said that the gun wasn’t fired, but they had done checks to ensure that it functioned properly and was “in perfect condition” before it was sold. He was also asked if he’s ever heard of a Pietta revolver “going off by itself,” to which Neal replied, “No.”

Cpl. Alexandria Hancock of the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office was the next to testify. She said she interviewed Alec Baldwin, first assistant director David Halls, and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed. Hancock felt that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was the one who brought live rounds to the set. During the interview, Gutierrez-Reed had told investigators that “No live ammo is ever kept on set.”

Ultimately, four witnesses gave their testimony on Thursday, for a total of six total. The trial will continue on Friday at 11:30 AM ET.

If convicted, Alec Baldwin could face up to 18 months behind bars.