Alec Baldwin’s criminal case from its shocking beginning and its sudden end

Santa Fe, N.M. –

The case against Alec Baldwin centered on how bullets were handled at the beginning and at the end.

Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial in the killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins came to a sudden stop on Friday when a judge ruled that the prosecution improperly failed to share ammunition evidence with the defense.

Authorities could never definitively determine how the lethal ammunition got into the mix and into Baldwin’s revolver on the set of the film “Rust.” The end of his trial may have shut down one of the final avenues for learning more. Several civil lawsuits against Baldwin and the film’s producers remain, however.

Earlier on Saturday, Baldwin made his first public comments to thank his supporters after the stunning early end to his involuntary manslaughter trial.

“There are too many people who have supported me to thank just now,” Baldwin said in a brief Instagram post that accompanied a photo of him sitting in a Santa Fe, N.M., courtroom. “To all of you, you will never know how much I appreciate your kindness toward my family.”

The actor wept a day earlier when Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case three days into the trial and said he could not be criminally charged again in the killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Neither he nor his lawyers spoke to reporters as he left the courthouse.

The evidence that sank the case was ammunition that was brought into the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins’ killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin’s lawyers alleged they “buried” it and filed a motion to dismiss the case.

The judge said the withholding of the evidence tainted the “fundamental fairness” of the trial of the 66-year-old Baldwin, who could have gotten 18 months in prison if he were convicted.

Dalton reported from Los Angeles.