Jensen Ackles Prop Involved In Rust Shooting Trial
More than one live bullet was found on the ill-fated Rust film set after the tragic October 2021 accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the accidental wounding of the film’s director Joel Souza. Investigators found actor Jensen Ackles’ Rust prop holster‘s bandolier held a live bullet, which could have led to deadly consequences if he also was issued a functioning firearm on the film set.
The Trial
Actor and producer Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed Hutchins and wounded Souza with a single shot when his film set firearm fired the bullet.
Local prosecutors charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter, which is a felony, and his criminal trial got underway last week before its sudden dismissal on Friday. During the second day of the trial, crime scene investigator Marissa Poppell testified a live bullet was found in Jensen Ackles‘ Rust ammunition prop holster’s bandolier and in Baldwin’s prop holster’s bandolier.
Poppell testified that Ackles had no idea the live round was in his ammunition belt. Several other bullets also were found on the set, including several on a prop cart and in a box of ammunition.
The Dismissal
A day after Poppell testified Jensen Ackles’ Rust ammo belt contained a live bullet, New Mexico First District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed with prejudice the case against Baldwin.
The prosecutors suppressed information related to the live ammunition found on the set, and Sommer said there’s no way to fix the harm caused by the suppression of that evidence. U.S. criminal law requires prosecutors to share all evidence with defendants and their attorneys.
The Armorer
Rust film set armorer Hannah Guttierez-Reed in March was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Her lawyers have said they intend to seek dismissal of her case based the same evidence that was hidden from Baldwin and his legal team.
Live Ammo
The film set was located on the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Bonanza Creek, N.M., when Baldwin accidentally shot Hutchins and Souza. He consistently maintained that he never squeezed the trigger on the fully functioning replica firearm he used on the film set.
It’s also questionable whether Baldwin knew his firearm was capable of firing a live bullet. The discovery of a live bullet in Jensen Ackles’ Rust holster bandolier raises the possibility that he also might have accidentally shot someone if that bullet wound up in his film firearm.
There are no film industry regulations regarding the use or presence of functioning firearms and ammunition on film sets. Some states might have laws banning or otherwise regulating their use on film sets, but New Mexico did not in 2021.
Ackles’ Other Work
Ackles in a 2022 interview with USA Today called Hutchins’ death and Souza’s wounding a “horrible, horrible accident” and called Hutchins an “incredible talent.”
Before Texas actor Jensen Ackles was cast in Rust, he for many years co-starred as Dean Winchester in the supernatural TV series Supernatural, which helped make him widely known in the United States and overseas. Ackles more recently played Soldier Boy in the Amazon Prime original series The Boys.
His casting as a gun-toting cowboy in Rust would be a natural progression in his move from the small screen to the silver screen, but he later left the film project due to conflicts with other filming schedules.
Source: CNN
