On Day 3 of the Alec Baldwin “Rust” shooting trial, his attorney Luke Nikas asked the judge to dismiss evidence that he claimed the defense never received about the source of the live round that killed Halyna Hutchins.
Prosecutor Kari Morrissey, however, insisted that the defense had the evidence the entire time. The evidence in question were live rounds supplied by ammunition supplier Seth Kenney that she said did not match the dummy rounds used on the set, which is why she decided they had “no evidentiary value.”
Nikas countered that Morrissey does not get to decide which evidence should be excluded.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer demanded to see the rounds in question, which Morrissey handed to her.
Morrissey tried to tell Sommer that the defense had called crime scene technician Marissa Poppell Thursday night to ask her to bring the rounds to court and then called back to tell her not to bring them, but Sommer did not seem interested in hearing it.
The judge then opened the sealed envelope containing the ammunition and Poppell was called to the stand where she was quizzed by Baldwin’s other attorney, Alex Spiro.
When Morrissey questioned Poppell, she said she had never seen the ammunition or Poppell’s report before. She asked Poppell if she “buried it,” as the defense claimed, how did the attorneys know to question her about it on Thursday? “These are important questions,” she said.
Sommer had previously instructed all court officers to use gloves when handling the bullets, so when Morrissey touched some of them with her bare hands, the defense pointed out she should be wearing gloves. “These have been rolling around for three years,” Morrissey replied.
After a lengthy sidebar with the attorneys, Sommer recessed the jury for the day. “I’m sorry, trials are fluid,” she said. The judge initially told the jury to come back “tomorrow,” before it was pointed out that the next weekday is actually Monday. “It’s been a longer week than usual,” Sommer said with a sigh.
Additionally, “Rust” armorer Hannah-Gutierrez-Reed was originally expected to testify today, but her appearance has been delayed. She is serving an 18-month sentence for her role in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin’s “Rust” trial will resume Monday.
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