SANTA FE, N.M. (NEWSnet/AP) — An ammunition supplier testified at trial Monday that he only provided inert dummy rounds to the Western film “Rust” where actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in 2021.
Albuquerque-based movie firearms and ammunition supplier Seth Kenney took the stand at the trial of “Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the death of cinematagropher Halyna Hutchins.
Kenney told a jury he cleaned and repackaged ammunition to “Rust” that was previously supplied to a production in Texas, handing off a box of dummy rounds containing no gunpower to the “Rust” props supervisor on Oct. 12, 2021.
In Monday’s testimony, Kenney said he provided “Rust” props master Sarah Zachry, who also managed weapons and ammunition for the production, with dummy ammunition retrieved from a props storage truck on the Texas set of the television series “1883.”
Kenney also said he scrubbed the exterior of the rounds and cleaned out residue inside in each of them to ensure the telltale rattle of a metal pellet inside dummy rounds could be heard for safety purposes.
The outcome of the trial may hinge on testimony about the source of six live rounds discovered on the “Rust” set — including the one from Baldwin’s gun. Live ammunition is expressly prohibited on movie sets by the industry and union guidelines.
Prosecutors say Gutierrez-Reed is to blame for unwittingly bringing live ammunition on set and that she flouted basic safety protocols for weapons handling. She has pleaded not guilty.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on “Rust,” was separately indicted by a grand jury last month on an involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with the fatal shooting of Hutchins. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled for July.
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