Michael Jace

Michael Jace
Born	(1962-07-13) July 13, 1962 (age 62)[3] Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1992–2014
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Criminal status	Incarcerated[1]
Spouses	Jennifer Bitterman ​ ​ (m. 1996; div. 2002)​ April Laune ​ ​ (m. 2003; died 2014)​
Children	3
Motive	Marital problems, financial difficulties
Conviction(s)	Second-degree murder
Criminal charge	Murder[1]
Penalty	40 years to life in prison[2]
Details
Victims	April Jace
Country	United States
State(s)	California
Weapon	Gun
Date apprehended	May 20, 2014[1]
Imprisoned at	Corcoran State Prison

Michael Andrew Jace (born July 13, 1962) is an American convicted murderer and former character actor, best known for his role as Los Angeles Police Officer Julien Lowe in the FX drama The Shield. He also played Andre Tibbs, an ex-convict mover accused of murder, in an episode of Cold Case.

On May 20, 2014, Jace was arrested after he fatally shot his wife, April Jace. A jury convicted him of second-degree murder on May 31, 2016, and on June 10, 2016, sentenced him to 40 years to life in prison.^[2]

Career

Jace began his professional acting career in 1992, appearing in an episode of Law & Order. In 1994, he appeared in several TV shows, including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and films including Clear and Present Danger and Forrest Gump, where he portrayed the leader of the Black Panthers.

Jace's other film appearances include Strange Days, playing a bodyguard to a corrupt record executive; The Replacements, playing a prison inmate-turned-football player; The Great White Hype, playing antagonist Marvin Shabazz; Boogie Nights, playing Jerome; The Fan, playing an arrogant ticket scalper; and Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes remake, playing Major Frank Santos.

Jace's TV appearances include the 1995 HBO TV movie Tyson (as boxer Mitch Green), Cold Case, and the 1999 Fox Family Channel TV movie Michael Jordan: An American Hero (as Jordan).

In 2002, Jace was cast as Officer Julien Lowe on FX's hit show The Shield. He was part of the main cast and appeared in 88 episodes through all seven seasons.

After his role on The Shield, Jace appeared, uncredited, in the film State of Play with Russell Crowe. From 2009 to 2013, he had a small recurring role on the television series Southland.

Murder conviction

Jace was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department on the evening of May 19, 2014, at his Hyde Park, South Los Angeles home, following a domestic violence report as well as Jace's own 9-1-1 call, in which he stated, "I shot my wife."^[4] When police arrived, they found Jace's wife, April, dead from gunshot wounds. After being questioned by police regarding his wife's death,^[5] Jace confessed to the shooting.

On May 20, 2014, Jace was arrested on suspicion of murder.^[1] On May 22, 2014, he was formally charged with murder by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.^[6] On May 31, 2016, Jace was found guilty of second-degree murder.^[7] Notably, the LAPD was able to crack the password-protected security on April's iPhone 5c.^[8] On June 10, 2016, he was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.^[9] He is incarcerated at the Corcoran State Prison.^[10]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Forrest Gump	Black Panther #2
1994	Clear and Present Danger	Coast Guardsman #3
1994	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	1st Officer, USS Odyssey
1995	Strange Days	Wade Beemer
1996	The Great White Hype	Marvin Shabazz
1996	The Fan	Scalper
1997	Boogie Nights	Jerome
1997	Bombshell	Detective Jefferson
1998	Thick as Thieves	Malcolm
1999	Michael Jordan: An American Hero	Michael Jordan	TV movie
2000	The Replacements	Wilkinson
2001	Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man	Samuel Pinckney	TV movie
2001	Planet of the Apes	Major Frank Santos
2002	Scorcher	MacVaughn
2002–2008	The Shield	Officer Julien Lowe	Main role
2003	Cradle 2 the Grave	Odion
2005	Fair Game	E
2006	Gridiron Gang	Mr. Jones
2009	State of Play	Officer Brown
2009–2013	Southland	Terrell	4 episodes
2010	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Unknown	2 episodes
2010	Rizzoli & Isles	Malcolm Senna	1 Ep: Sympathy for the Devil
2010	Burn Notice	Jeff Taylor	1 Ep: Brotherly Love
2011	Private Practice	Randy Hatcher	1 Ep: A Step Too Far
2011	The Mentalist	Lawrence	1 Ep: Rhapsody in Red
2011	Nikita	Captain Tony Merrick	1 Ep: Game Change
2011	Division III: Football's Finest	Roy Goodwyn

References

1. "LASD Inmate Information Center – Inmate Search". Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD). Archived from the original on May 29, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
2. Digon, Sno-Ann (June 2, 2016). "Michael Jace Guilty Of Wife's Murder; Sentenced To 40 Years". Parent Herald. IQADNET LLC. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
3. "Biographical facts on arrested actor Michael Jace". The Associated Press. May 20, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
4. Longeretta, Emily (May 20, 2014). "Michael Jace Charged For Shooting & Killing Wife In Front Of Kids". Hollywood Life. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
5. "Actor Michael Jace held over fatal shooting of wife, April Jace at home in Los Angeles". CBS News. San Francisco, California: CBS Interactive Inc. May 20, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
6. McNary, Dave (May 22, 2014). "Prosecutors Charge 'The Shield' Actor With Murder in Wife's Death". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
7. Lara, Jovana; ABC7.com staff (May 31, 2016). "Former 'Shield' actor Michael Jace found guilty of wife's murder". ABC7 Los Angeles. Los Angeles, California: ABC Inc. Associated Press. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
8. "LAPD hacks into locked iPhone of actor Michael Jace's slain wife". Los Angeles Daily News. May 5, 2016.
9. Myers, Amanda Lee (June 11, 2016). "'Shield' actor gets 40 years to life in wife's killing". CTV News. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Bell Media. Associated Press.
10. "CDCR Public Inmate Locator Disclaimer".

External links

• Michael Jace at IMDb
• Biography on Star Pulse