Testimony in ‘Rust’ trial focuses on drugs and props
SANTA FE, N.M. – On day 8 of testimony in the trial against Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, witnesses covered everything from possible cocaine use while filming, to where the ammo on set was sourced from.
Rebecca Smith worked on the set of “Rust” as craft services. She testified on the day of the shooting, and was asked to sit with Gutierrez-Reed in her hotel room before questioned by police.
Smith says Gutierrez-Reed asked her to hold onto a baggie for her.
“What did you believe to be in the bag?”
Rebecca Smith: “I believed it to be cocaine.”
“And what did you do with it?”
Rebecca Smith: “I threw it in the hallway trashcan before even going downstairs to my room.”
“And why did you throw it in the hallway trashcan?”
Rebecca Smith: “Because like I said, I am a recovering addict, I can’t have it first and foremost in my possession, and second I was really offended and didn’t want anything to do with the situation anymore.”
The defense tried to cast some doubt on what that powder was in the bag. Smith admitted she does not know for sure that it was cocaine.
Then, the owner of the Albuquerque Props Shop, that supplied guns and most of the ammunition to the set of “Rust,” Seth Kenney took the stand. He told jurors Monday he knows Gutierrez-Reed also brought ammo to the set.
But on cross-examination, the defense highlighted Kenney’s prop shop was very unorganized, and he also had boxes of live ammunition.
The defense is expected to call their first witness on Tuesday.