Michael Jace, ‘The Shield’ Actor, Found Guilty Of Wife’s Murder

The Shield actor Michael Jace was found guilty of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife April Jace in a Los Angeles court Tuesday

Michael Jace Found Guilty

Jace, 53, was convicted of second-degree murder by a jury of six women and six men who deliberated for about two hours, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told CNN. The jury also found it true that Jace had wielded a firearm.

Jace’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 10. He faces 40 years to life in prison.

The prosecution had been pushing for a first-degree murder conviction, arguing that Jace had premeditated murdering his wife after learning of her plans to divorce him and growing paranoid that she was having an affair. Jace’s attorney’s never contested the fact that Jace had killed his wife, but argued that it was a crime of passion.

“Our entire goal was to show this was not a case of premeditation, and we achieved that goal,” Jace’s attorney, Jamon Hicks, said in an email. “This was a very smart and intelligent jury who deliberated and considered the evidence. They were not just moved by emotion but by the evidence.”

Jace was arrested and charged in the shooting death of his wife in May 2014. Los Angeles Police were called to Jace’s home in the Hyde Park area of south Los Angeles to investigate a shooting. It was Jace who had called in the shooting and soon after admitted his guilt. At the residence, police found April Jace dead from multiple gunshot wounds and the couple’s young sons, reported CNN.

Jace is best known for playing a member of the Los Angeles Police Department in FX drama The Shield from 2002 to 2008. As Julien Lowe, he rose in the ranks from inner-city LA rookie cop to detective. He’s also played an LAPD officer in Southland. Jace’s other TV work includes appearances on Private Practice, The Mentalist and Burn Notice, and the titular role in 1999 made-for-TV biopic Michael Jordan: An American Hero.

On the big screen, Jace most recently appeared in State of Play with Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck. He also had a role as a Black Panther member in Forrest Gump.