Michael Jace, best known for playing the morally upstanding, sexually conflicted Julien Lowe on The Shield, has been charged with homicide in the shooting death of his wife. Reports vary as to how Jace came to be arrested: According to CNN, police arrived at Jace’s home early Tuesday morning to investigate reports of a shooting, where they discovered Jace’s wife, April, fatally shot. Jace was then detained and booked into a Los Angeles jail, where he faces homicide charges. According to TMZ, it was Jace himself who called police, telling them, “I shot my wife,” and staying on the phone until they arrived. It also reports that Jace’s two young children, both under 10, were witnesses to the shooting.
In addition to starring on The Shield for all seven of its seasons, Jace turned up in a number of roles—often playing a cop or military officer—in shows like Southland, CSI, Burn Notice, NYPD Blue, and The Mentalist. He’s also been seen in movies such as Forrest Gump, The Replacements, Boogie Nights, and State Of Play, and played the title role in the TV movie Michael Jordan: An American Hero.
The LAPD released a statement saying, “At this moment the motive of the murder is believed to be domestic violence.” Jace is being held with bail set at $1 million.