A judge in New Mexico unexpectedly and dramatically ended a criminal manslaughter case against American actor Alec Baldwin on Friday, dismissing it in the middle of the actor's trial and stating that it could not be brought again.

Judge Mary Marlow Sommer dismissed the case based on police and prosecutorial misconduct regarding withholding evidence from the defense in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."

Baldwin cried, embraced his attorneys, waved to the courtroom audience, then turned to hug his weeping wife Hilaria, the mother of seven of his eight children, holding her for 12 seconds. He climbed into an SUV outside the Santa Fe courthouse without speaking to the media.

Sommer said, "The late discovery of this evidence during trial hampered the effective use of evidence in a way that affected the fundamental fairness of the proceedings." "If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly approaches bad faith such that it bears the markings of burn."

The evidence that sunk the case, revealed on the second day of trial Thursday, was the presence of ammunition brought to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office in March by a man who said it might be related to Hutchins' death. Prosecutors said they considered the ammunition irrelevant and unimportant, while Baldwin's attorneys claimed they "buried it." The defense made one of several motions to dismiss the case due to evidence issues. All others were denied. But this took time to dispose of.

The judge's decision ends the criminal blame for 66-year-old Baldwin after almost three years of turmoil that began when a gun he was pointing at Hutchins during a rehearsal went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said in a statement: “Our goal from the beginning was to seek justice for Halyna Hutchins, and we fought to try this case on its merits.” She added: “We are disappointed that the case did not reach the jury.”

The career of the "Hunt for Red October" and "30 Rock" star and frequent "Saturday Night Live" host—who has been a household name for over three decades—was in jeopardy and he could have faced 18 months in prison if convicted.

Baldwin and other producers still face civil lawsuits from Hutchins' parents and sister.

Prosecutors obtained a conviction in Hutchins' death. Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film's armorer, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and she is now appealing the ruling.

Her attorney Jason Bowles said on Friday he will also file a motion to dismiss his client's case.

He clarified to The Associated Press in an email: "The judge affirmed the integrity of the system by dismissing the case."

Marlow Sommer halted the trial earlier Friday and sent the jury home for the weekend so she could spend the day reviewing testimonies and arguments regarding the dismissal motion.

Troy Teske, a retired police officer and close friend of Gutierrez Reed's father, Thil Reed, who works as a weapons trainer and armorer in films, was the person who brought the ammunition to the sheriff's office in March on the same day she was convicted.

Teske and the ammunition he said could be relevant were known to authorities for several weeks after the shooting, and he met with special prosecutor Kari Morrissey last year, but they concluded it was not relevant.

The evidence was collected but crucially was not placed in the same file as the rest of the "Rust" case and was not provided to Baldwin’s defense team when they examined the projectile evidence in April. The defense may argue that they should have been given the opportunity to comment on the importance of the evidence, and that the prosecution "buried" it.

This issue arose during the defense's questioning on Thursday with Marissa Poblete, a crime scene technician for the sheriff's office, who acknowledged receiving the ammunition, a moment captured by the judge on body camera video from a police supervisor on Friday.

Morrissey argued that the emergence of the ammunition was part of Reed’s attempt to shift blame away from his daughter.

Morrissey told the judge during the hearing: "This is a wild goose chase that has no evidentiary value whatsoever." "This is just a man trying to protect his daughter."

Another special prosecutor in the case, Erlyn Ocampo Johnson, resigned from the case earlier Friday. Baldwin's attorney Alex Spiro asked if she had resigned due to the evidence issues being discussed. Morrissey said she thought it had to do with the public hearing itself.

Morrissey, speaking outside the courthouse, said she respects the judge's decision but sees no reason to believe that the undisclosed evidence relates to the "Rust" film series.

The trial hardly began before it ended. Prosecutors had just started to present their case, and none of the eyewitnesses had testified from the group yet.

Baldwin's younger brother Stephen Baldwin and his older sister Elizabeth Keushler, both actors, sat behind him in court beside his wife every day of the trial, which was streamed live by AP and Court TV. Reporters from both coasts filled the small courtroom, having set up stations outside for the arrival and departure of trial representatives.

The judge dealt a blow to the prosecution's case when she ruled on the eve of trial Monday that Baldwin's role as a producer on the film was not relevant and should be excluded.

However, prosecutors pressed on, depicting Baldwin in their openings as a reckless performer "playing pretend" while violating the basic rules of gun safety.

Baldwin's attorney Spiro said he did nothing but what actors always do on the set of "Rust," and that proper safety measures should be taken before a gun reaches an actor's hands.