LIVE: 'Rust' manslaughter trial for film armorer

Seth Kenny's Relationship with Alec Reed

• Seth Kenny, the owner of a prop and weapons supply house, met Alec Reed, the defendant, on the set of "Django Unchained" and became friends with him in 2018.
• Reed primarily serves as a gun coach but also works as an armor on set.
• Kenny prepares the weapons for Reed to use on set.

Work on the Set of "1883"

• Kenny and Reed worked on the set of the TV series "1883."
• They had to push hard to get Reed hired due to concerns about his ability to withstand the Texas heat.
• Reed primarily served as a gun coach, providing actors with basic firearms training using replica guns.
• Coaching sessions with live ammunition were conducted at a private range on Taylor Sheridan's ranch.
• The live ammunition used for training came from Reed, who obtained it from Joe Swanson, a prominent supplier of blanks and dummy rounds.
• After the training, approximately 125 rounds of unused live ammunition were stored in a gray bin marked "live ammunition" in the bathroom of Kenny's business in Albuquerque.
• Kenny confirms that all of the 45 Long Colt live ammunition was kept in the gray bin and that they provided law enforcement with all of it when a search warrant was executed at their business.

Supplying Firearms and Ammunition to "Rust"

• Kenny supplied half the guns, most of the long arms, shotguns, and single-shot rifles to the set of "Rust."
• He provided 14 rounds of .38-40 dummy rounds, while Hannah Gutierrez-Reed supplied the remaining dummy rounds.
• Kenny sourced 90% of his ammunition and 100% of his dummy rounds from Joe Swanson.
• He never received a box of .45 Long Colt dummy rounds with the label shown in court.
• Kenny provided a single box of 50 .45 Long Colt dummy rounds to the set of "Rust" on October 12th.
• He brought the dummy rounds from the prop truck on the set of "1883" in Texas.
• Kenny kept the dummy rounds in his van overnight before bringing them to PDQ's location in Albuquerque.
• He noticed that some of the dummy rounds looked too old for the camera, so he polished them with steel wool.
• Kenny rattled the dummy rounds to ensure they made a proper sound before polishing them.
• He placed the polished dummy rounds in a brown cardboard box and took a photo of it.
• Kenny provided the dummy rounds to the set of "Rust" in a white box with gaffer tape and labeled the contents on both ends.

Discrepancies and Missing Dummy Rounds

• Kenny identified the foam insert and dummy rounds entered into evidence as States exhibit 48a, but noted one round appeared to be inconsistent and did not resemble the others.
• He identified a round circled in red in States exhibit 166 as the inconsistent round and expressed doubt that he would have provided that round.
• Kenny stated he had no knowledge of what happened to the box of dummy rounds after he gave it to Sarah Zachary and it was taken to the set of Rust.
• He recognized an extra round in States exhibit 49 and explained that it was a denx round, which is a costume round that does not rattle and cannot be chambered in a gun.
• Kenny confirmed he never provided denx rounds to the set of Rust and explained that the denx rounds he tested did not fit in the revolver due to the manufacturing seam.

Interactions with Hannah Gutierrez-Reed

• Kenny identified a text conversation between himself and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed (States exhibit 175) where they discussed Hannah's search for leather, primarily referring to gun belts.
• Gutierrez-Reed indicated she couldn't find any of the dummy rounds.
• When asked about the missing dummy rounds, Gutierrez-Reed responded that some were still in the belts.
• Kenny explained to Gutierrez-Reed that if anything gets lost or damaged on set, the production needs to pay for it.
• Gutierrez-Reed confirmed that dummy rounds commonly fall out of gun belts during stunts or are picked up as souvenirs.
• Gutierrez-Reed stated that she lost around 50 dummy rounds during action scenes.
• Gutierrez-Reed accused Kenny and Reed of sending her out to do things without proper training.
• Kenny joked that Gutierrez-Reed was a "naughty child" and that he would let her father handle the situation.
• Kenny believed Gutierrez-Reed was bringing dummy rounds that were already loaded into gun belts.

Aftermath of the Incident

• Kenny found out about the injury on set after receiving a text from Sarah Zachary that said "emergency" in all caps.
• Kenny denies telling Sarah Zachary to do anything with the dummy rounds