A sheriff’s office crime scene technician, Marissa Poppel, testified on Thursday that the rounds did not match those collected on the set of Rust which were sent for FBI testing.
But when defense lawyers inspected them they found some had brass casings with the “Starline Brass” logo and silver, nickel primers, just like the six live rounds found on the set of Rust. Others looked like inert dummy rounds taken into evidence on the set.
“That turned out to be completely false, didn’t it?” Baldwin’s lawyer Spiro asked Corporal Hancock.
“You’re correct,” she said.
Judge Sommer asked Hancock who had decided to put Teske’s ammunition into a separate case file number.
Hancock said it was the decision of her supervisor, prosecutors and herself.
“Ms Morrissey was part of that conversation?” asked Sommer, growing visibly angry.
“Yes,” replied Hancock.
Spiro also questioned Morrissey about her attitude toward his client, saying witnesses had reported she had characterised him with expletives and said she would try to teach him a lesson.
“I never said to witnesses that I would teach him a lesson,” she said.
Prosecutors had alleged Baldwin played a role in the death of Hutchins because he handled the gun irresponsibly. His lawyers said Baldwin was failed by Gutierrez and others responsible for safety on the set, and law enforcement agents were more interested in prosecuting their client than finding the source of the live round that killed Hutchins.
Defense lawyers alleged prop supplier Seth Kenney supplied the live rounds to Rust, an accusation he denied in testimony on Friday.
It remains to be seen whether the dismissal of Baldwin’s case would affect Gutierrez’s conviction, which is under appeal.