(NewsNation) — Bullet evidence, as well as text messages, were shown in court during the second day of the trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of the movie “Rust” where a gun loaded with live ammo was fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Gutierrez-Reed pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence.
Actor Alec Baldwin, who had been rehearsing a scene in New Mexico that involved drawing the weapon that ultimately shot Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza, is also indicted on an involuntary manslaughter charge. Baldwin, who has pleaded not guilty, will have his day in court once this trial ends.
Crime scene technician Marissa Poppell, who photographed and analyzed evidence found on the “Rust” movie set, was the first witness Friday.
Jurors were shown photos, including live and “dummy” bullets, as well as ammunition boxes. Somehow, six live rounds made their way on the “Rust” set.
While prosecutors pointed the finger at Gutierrez-Reed, her defense attorneys blame PDQ Prop, the company providing her the ammunition.
Pictures Poppel took from PDQ props showed a disorganized warehouse, with weapons and ammunition stacked everywhere along pizza boxes and beer glasses.
For the first time during the trial, evidence of reported drug use was shown via text messages extracted from Gutierrez-Reed’s phone via a search warrant.
The texts were between Gutierrez-Reed and an unidentified person from Oct. 20, 2021, the night before the shooting.
“I don’t need that tonight anyways. Right on. I might go smoke in the jacuzzi soon. But maybe not, I’m so pooped,” one text from Gutierrez-Reed said.
Another one Gutierrez-Reed wrote said she was “headed down to get high out back.”
The person she was texting asked Gutierrez-Reed, “How’d the blaze sess go,” to which she answered, “I’m still smoking.”
