Actor Michael Jace Convicted of Wife's Murder

The Shield actor faces the possibility of life in prison
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 31, 2016 2:55 PM CDT
Actor Michael Jace Convicted of Wife's Murder
Actor Michael Jace, seen here in court last week, was convicted Tuesday of second-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife.   (Nick Ut)

Actor Michael Jace, who notably played a police officer on The Shield, was convicted Tuesday of fatally shooting his wife in front of their two young sons, the AP reports. The verdict came after a weeklong trial in which Los Angeles jurors were told the actor shot his wife April in the back and then twice in the legs with a revolver that belonged to her father. Jace, 53, did not testify in his own defense. He told detectives soon after the attack that he had retrieved the gun to kill himself but couldn't do it. Instead, he planned to shoot his wife, an avid runner, in the leg so she would feel pain, Jace said in a recorded interview. Deputy District Attorney Tannaz Mokayef told jurors the actor was waiting for his wife, shot her in the back and taunted her before shooting each of her legs.

Jace's 10-year-old son testified that he heard his father say, "'If you like running, then run to heaven,'" before firing the second time. Savoy Brown, an adult son of April Jace, said the family was pleased with the verdict. Mokayef said the potential sentence would be 40 years to life in prison when Jace is sentenced on June 10. She said during the trial that the actor was upset that his wife wanted a divorce and believed she was having an affair, although no evidence was presented during the trial that she was cheating. Jace's attorney, Jamon Hicks, previously told jurors the actor accepted responsibility for killing his wife but should be convicted of voluntary manslaughter because he shot her in the heat of passion. (More Michael Jace stories.)

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