Day two focuses on ammunition
- Alec Baldwin is charged with involuntary manslaughter over his role in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of "Rust" on Oct. 21, 2021. He faces up to 18 months in prison if he is convicted.
- 'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is expected to testify Friday. She's serving an 18-month sentence for her role in Hutchins' shooting.
- A crime technician from the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office was on the stand for the second day, and was cross-examined by Baldwin's attorney Alex Spiro.
- At one point, Spiro accused the technician of burying evidence.
Day 2 ends as lead detective takes the stand
The second day of Baldwin's criminal trial ended as Santa Fe County Sheriff's Cpl. Alexandra Hancock began to detail the investigation into the "Rust" shooting.
She was testifying on evidence surrounding the munitions when Judge Sommer instructed the jury and witnesses to end for the day. It was a quiet end to a contentious day, with the defense accusing a witness of suppressing evidence at one point.
Spiro opened the day with a tough line of questioning for the county's crime scene technician, but Morrissey rebounded after lunch by focusing on whether Baldwin's gun could have misfired.
She brought in the gun's manufacturer and a sales representative, both of whom testified that the gun could not fire on its own due to the design. Baldwin has insisted that he did not pull the trigger and that the gun fired on its own when he pulled back the hammer to cock it.
Sales representative for gunmaker has 'never' received calls on misfires
Justin Neal, a sales representative for the company that imports Pietta firearms, said he has not heard of that model of gun misfiring.
Neal said he's taken five to six customer service calls a day since he began working with the company in 2018 and he has "never" received a call about that gun model shooting on its own.
Gun could not fire without pulling the trigger, manufacturer testifies
Pietta testified it is not possible to fire the gun Baldwin used on the set of "Rust" without exerting pressure and pulling the trigger.
"This gun cannot fire without pull of trigger because of the mechanics and design of trigger was made to work in this way," Pietta said.
He noted in his testimony that the guns go through quality control at his company by the Italian government's regulatory body and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Those checks include drop tests, Pietta testified.
On redirect, Pietta told Baldwin's attorney that he did not inspect the gun following the "Rust" shooting and did not have knowledge of its condition while it was used on set.
Collectible firearms maker called to witness stand
Alessandro Pietta, who manufactures reproductions of collectible firearms, has been called by the state.
Pietta testified that his family made the gun used by Baldwin on the set of "Rust." He noted that the gun was made for a trade show in 2016 or 2017, and Pietta was personally involved in producing the sample.
Johnson questioned him on quality control efforts by his family’s company, to which he responded that, after the company does its own check for defects, the guns go through quality control by the government of Italy.
Armorer's attorney calls lack of munition testing 'beyond shocking'
Gutierrez's attorney, Jason Bowles, accused the state of "hiding the ball" after Baldwin's defense revealed in cross-examination that new evidence was brought to the state after Gutierrez’s trial ended.
"It’s beyond shocking the state didn’t have these live rounds that may match the ones from the 'Rust' set tested, nor even put them in Rust evidence," Bowles told NBC News. "They were hiding the ball until called out on it in trial. If you want to get to the truth, you run down all leads."
The evidence was a box of munitions received by the crime scene technician, Marissa Poppell, earlier this year. Poppell testified that she did not place it with the other "Rust" evidence or have it tested by the FBI.
The special prosecutor redirected Poppell and identified the man who turned the evidence over as a close friend of the armorer's father.
State says new evidence was turned over by a friend of the armorer's family
Morrissey identified the person who turned over a box of munition following Gutierrez's trial as a friend of the armorer's father, a widely respected armorer in Hollywood.
On redirect of Poppell, Morrissey confirmed the name of the man who turned over the ammunition. She insinuated the man, a family friend of Gutierrez, had motivation to implicate Seth Kenney, the "Rust" weapon supplier.
Poppell testified she had no evidence that Kenney had anything to do with bringing live rounds to set.
"If you know, is there evidence that Hannah Gutierrez brought the live rounds onto the set of 'Rust?'" Morrissey asked.
"Yes," Poppell said.
Baldwin returns with a coffee cup as everyone returns from lunch
Baldwin walked back into the courtroom with what appeared to be a takeout coffee cup in hand, just minutes after he abruptly walked out while the motion hearing was underway.
Contentious exchange as defense accuses witness of burying evidence
Spiro engages in a heated back-and-forth with Poppell over ammunition that was brought to her by a "good Samaritan" after the trial of the "Rust" armorer.
Poppell did not put that evidence in with the rest of the "Rust" evidence, and Spiro accused her of suppressing evidence. She also was asked if she ever turned that evidence to the defense, to which she clarified she does not turn any evidence over to the defense.
Jurors more engaged in second day of trial as attorneys square off
During this morning's session in court, jurors appeared fresh, alert and engaged in testimony. They were following closely as both Morrissey and Spiro had the floor. Spiro’s method of cross-examination was aggressive compared to his approach yesterday, speaking quickly and keeping the jurors' attention.
Contentious interactions between Morrissey and Spiro also captured the attention of jurors, with the state interrupting with several objections throughout the morning.
Some jurors appeared to have more awareness today of the gallery, at times monitoring who was entering and leaving the courtroom during proceedings. An NBC News producer in court noticed two jurors watching Baldwin's brother Stephen carefully when he entered and exited the courtroom.
Baldwin leaves courtroom
Alec Baldwin has abruptly left the courtroom, getting up and walking out as the special prosecutor argues in a motion in front of the judge.
Spiro, his attorney, asked to approach the bench and both sides are conferring with Sommer.