- Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the death of Halyna Hutchins
The ammunition expert who supplied the Rust set only provided dummy rounds to the production, he testified in court as jurors were shown pictures of his chaotic office storage system.
Seth Kenney, an Albuquerque-based movie firearms and ammunition supplier, took the stand Monday at the trial of movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Alec Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on Rust, fatally shot the cinematographer on set in 2021. He has separately been indicted on charges related to the shooting.
The outcome of Gutierrez-Reed’s 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.
Kenney told the court that he cleaned and repackaged ammunition to Rust that was previously supplied to a production in Texas, handing off a box of 50 inert dummy rounds containing no gunpower to the film’s props supervisor on October 12, 2021.
But defense attorneys for Gutierrez-Reed, 26, showed the jury images of Kenney’s ‘cluttered’ business, a storage system without written inventories, and highlighted his ‘hazy’ recollection of his timeline for receiving live rounds for another production.
Seth Kenney, an Albuquerque-based movie firearms and ammunition supplier, took the stand Monday at the trial of movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on Monday
Gutierrez-Reed is charged with involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (pictured). She was fatally shot by actor Alec Baldwin on the set of Rust in 2021
The jury was shown images of Kenney’s ‘cluttered’ business, a storage system without written inventories
Kenney told the court that he cleaned and repackaged ammunition to Rust that was previously supplied to a production in Texas , handing off a box of 50 inert dummy rounds containing no gunpower. Pictured are scenes from inside Kenney’s ‘cluttered’ office
Kenney testified Monday that 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.
‘Did you ever give any live ammunition to Sarah Zachry?’ prosecutor Kari Morrissey asked Kenney. He responded, ‘No.’
Responding to additional questions, Kenney said he didn’t have any ammunition that looked like the live rounds investigators found on the set of Rust.
At the same time, Kenney acknowledged he stored live rounds that were used in a live-ammunition shooting exercise for actors on 1883, arranged at a private ranch of series creator Taylor Sheridan.
Kenney said the live rounds from that shooting exercise were brought back to his shop, stored in a bathroom within a gray plastic container marked ‘live rounds’ on the outside.
The live rounds were initially provided to 1883 by Gutierrez-Reed’s step-father, the Hollywood sharp shooter and weapons consultant Thell Reed.
Investigators from the Santa Fe sheriff’s office searched Kenney’s Albuquerque supply shop several weeks after the fatal shooting, seizing live rounds that were sent to the FBI for analysis and comparison with live rounds discovered on the set of Rust.
Kenney acknowledged that at the time he supplied Rust, he also stored live rounds that were used in a live-ammunition shooting exercise for actors on 1883. Pictured is a photograph taken from inside Kenney’s office
Defense attorney Jason Bowles has argued that Kenney wasn’t properly investigated for his role as a Rust supplier. This photograph from Kenney’s office was shown to the jury
Bowles on Monday highlighted the fact that the search of Kenney’s business took place about a month after the fatal shooting. PIctured: Dummy rounds stored in the supplier’s office
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, center, sits with her attorney Jason Bowles, left, during testimony in the trial against her in First District Court, in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Friday, March, 1, 2024
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. Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey is pictured during the trial on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024
Defense attorney Jason Bowles has argued that Kenney wasn’t properly investigated for his role as a Rust supplier. Bowles on Monday highlighted the fact that the search of Kenney’s business took place about a month after the fatal shooting.
Kenney’s testimony also delved into his disagreements with Gutierrez-Reed about her job performance on the set of Rust in connection with a gun misfire – prior to the fatal shooting.
Testimony Monday also delved into evidence related to a tampering charge against Gutierrez-Reed. That charge stems from accusations that she handed a small bag of possible narcotics to another crew member after the shooting to avoid detection.
A crew member from food services testified that she went to Gutierrez-Reed’s hotel room the evening after the fatal shooting to keep the armorer company at the request of a union steward.
She said Gutierrez-Reed handed her some white powder in a plastic baggie within another baggie, and that she felt insulted and threw it into a hallway garbage container after leaving the room.
‘In fairness, you probably had five seconds to look at this bag, is that right?’ said Bowles, the defense attorney. ‘You have a belief, but you don’t know for certain, what was in that bag.’
Jurors were shown a video shot during production of Rust in which Alec Baldwin pointed the gun at the crew and cast members including a 12-year-old boy between scenes
Baldwin, 65, who was the lead actor and a producer in the movie, will face a separate trial in July for involuntary manslaughter, which he denies
Gutierrez-Reed is also facing a charge of tampering with evidence after prosecutors claimed she gave another person a bag of cocaine after a police interview to prevent law enforcement from obtaining it
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.
Defense attorneys say their client is being smeared and unfairly scapegoated for problems beyond her control, including Baldwin’s handling of the weapons.
Baldwin, 65, was pointing the gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set outside of Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.
He 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.