Jensen Ackles held live bullet prior to Halyna Hutchins death in prop gun: Alec Baldwin trial

Crime scene technician Marissa Poppell reported that one of the numerous live bullets found on the "Rust" set in the investigation of the 2021 fatal shooting was located in actor Jensen Ackles' bandolier.

Poppell revealed this information while testifying on the second day of actor Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial, nearly three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the New Mexico film set.

When questioned about the live ammunition found on set, Poppell stated that investigators discovered some on a prop cart, in a box of ammunition, and in two prop gun holsters — one worn by Alec Baldwin and the other by co-star Ackles.

Defense attorney Alex Spiro inquired, “Mr. Ackles, another actor on the set, turns out that he — as he acted, as he performed — had a live bullet in his bandolier, correct?”

“Yes,” Poppell responded.

“You have no reason to think Mr. Ackles had any idea that was there, right?” Spiro added.

“Correct.”

Ackles, recognized for his extensive tenure on "Supernatural" and his role in Amazon's Prime Video series "The Boys," was present on the set when Hutchins tragically died. He discussed the incident with USA Today in a 2022 interview.

“You can chalk it up to negligence or try to point a finger at anybody,” Ackles said.

“At the end of the day, it was a horrible, horrible accident that ended with a life. Unfortunately, those do happen all the time around the world everywhere. You don’t normally witness them like I did, and it’s certainly shocking and jarring. It makes you value life even more than you had.”

Ackles fondly recalled Hutchins' skill and talent.

In his USA Today interview, Ackles noted, “we were only about a week and a half away from being done with that film, so there was a lot of footage in the can and she was doing something really exceptional.”

“She was an incredible talent, and I wish there was some way to get it out there to the masses, but I don’t know that that’s possible.”

Ackles' role in "Rust" is absent from IMDb credits. Actor Josh Hopkins replaced him due to scheduling conflicts, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.