‘Rust’ trial live updates: Alec Baldwin defense says if he pulled the trigger or not ‘doesn’t make him guilty’

Crime scene technician Marissa Poppell testified on Thursday that one of the live bullets found on the set of Rust following the 2021 shooting was located in the bandolier – or prop holster – of actor Jensen Ackles.

Live bullets were found on the prop cart and in two prop gun holsters.

One was worn by Alec Baldwin and the other was worn by Ackles.

“Mr. Ackles, another actor on the set, turns out that he — as he acted, as he performed — had a live bullet in his bandolier, correct?” Spiro asked Poppell who responded “yes.”

“You have no reason to think Mr. Ackles had any idea that was there, right?” Spiro pushed.

Poppell told him: “Correct.”

Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial at the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico — about 20 miles northeast of the ‘Rust’ movie set and the shooting of Halyna Hutchins — is projected to last nine days.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer insists that she’ll keep the lawyers in line and on schedule.

A jury was selected on Tuesday and opening statements were presented on Wednesday.

The state’s first four witnesses testified on Wednesday but on Thursday, cross-examination of crime scene tech Marissa Poppell has lasted most of the day.

The projected end is the following Friday.

Once the jurors get the case, however, they can deliberate as long as needed.

Defense attorney Alex Spiro questioned crime scene tech Marissa Poppell why it took a week to search the prop truck on the set of Rust.

The truck is where the blank ammunition and dummy rounds were kept. Live ammo was found on the set, but none was found in the truck.

“You’re finding these live rounds all over the set, right? Sort of seemed to be a little bit of everywhere without much cohesion between where you’re finding them,” Spiro said.

“And they’re housed originally in the truck. And so you go a week later to the prop truck, which has all of the ammunition. And there’s not a single live round there, right? Why did law enforcement wait a week to go to the prop truck?”

Poppell responded: “The search warrant needed to be written.”

She added: “I’m not sure of why the time difference occurred exactly.”

He claimed that a search warrant for the church on set was written and filed the same day of the shooting. Poppell clarified the search warrant was done the next day.

A piece of paper collected from the scene of the shooting at the church is displayed.

There appear to be directions on the paper and it reads: “Rust Colt cocked quietly now.”

Poppell says on the stand that she photographed the paper because she felt it was important because it mentioned a firearm.

Marissa Poppell testified on the stand that live bullets were found mixed with dummy bullets in a prop cart on the set of Rust.

In photos shown in court, the live rounds appear to have a silver dot at the bottom of the casing rather than a dull orange shade.

“Your working theory, as you evaluated the ammunition and looked at the similarity between the Starline nickel live and the Starline nickel dummies is that they could have been easily commingled there?” defense attorney Alex Spiro asked.

“Yes,” she responded.

“In other words, somebody could have mistaken one for the other, right?” he asked. She said: “Yes.”

Spiro also questioned Poppell about the damage caused by the state’s forensic analysis of the gun. The team previously tried to have the cases dismissed because they were unable to examine the gun.

”As to the firearm, I think where you left off yesterday is ultimately that firearm was destroyed in the testing there,” Spiro said.

”Not destroyed, but broken,” Poppell responded.

She later agreed that the gun could likely be fixed with replacement parts, but it could not be restored to the condition it was on the day of the shooting.

Court is back in session for the second day of Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter trial.

The prosecution’s fourth witness, crime scene technician Marissa Poppell, is back on the stand.

She is being cross-examined by the defense.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the ‘Rust’ movie set who was convicted, is expected to testify on Friday morning.

Gutierrez-Reed will be transported from prison to the courthouse on Friday morning, Attorney Jason Bowles confirmed to Court TV as court resumed on Thursday.