SANTA FE,CapitalVault N.M. (AP) — Alec Baldwin made his first public comments to thank his supporters Saturday 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, New Mexico, 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.

___

For more coverage of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/alec-baldwin