- NEW: Michael Jace called 911 to report his wife was shot, a detective says
- NEW: Two children were at home at the time of the shooting, police say
- Playing an LAPD detective in "The Shield" is Jace's biggest and longest-running role
- Jace acted in 89 episodes as LAPD Detective Julien Lowe
Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jace, who played a Los Angeles cop in TV's "The Shield," has been arrested in the fatal shooting of his wife, police said Tuesday.
April Jace, 40, was found shot to death in her south Los Angeles home by police called there to investigate a shooting, Los Angeles Police Detective Lyman Doster said.
Jace, 51, called 911 to report that his wife had been shot, Detective Dean Vinluan said, adding that he "was on the phone with the operator." Neighbors who heard gunshots also called 911, he said.
"At this moment the motive of the murder is believed to be domestic violence," a police news release said.
Investigators detained Jace at the couple's Hyde Park area home Monday night and booked the actor on a homicide charge early Tuesday, according to Doster.
Jace was booked into a Los Angeles jail with bail set at $1 million.
Two children were in the home when their mother was shot, Vinluan said. The children, whose ages he would not reveal, were taken to a police station and then handed over to a representative of California's Department of Children Services, he said.
The FX police drama "The Shield" was the biggest and longest-running role in Jace's 22-year acting career. He appeared in 89 episodes as Julien Lowe, who started as a rookie officer in an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct in 2002 and rose through the ranks to become a detective before the series ended in 2008, according to the Internet Movie Database.
He acted on several episodes of "Southland," another TV drama about Los Angeles police, between 2009 and 2012.
Jace often played a law enforcement or military officer on television shows. He is credited with roles in "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Private Practice," "The Mentalist," "Burn Notice" and "NYPD Blue."
He had the title role of Michael Jordan in the 1999 TV movie about the NBA star, "Michael Jordan: An American Hero."
Jace played Officer Brown in Russell Crowe's 2009 film "State of Play," and he portrayed a Black Panther member in the 1994 blockbuster movie "Forrest Gump."
Michael Jace filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in March 2011, citing $500,000 in debts and an annual income of around $80,000, according to court documents obtained by CNN. His income included residuals from his TV and film work as an actor.
Jace voluntarily dismissed his bankruptcy case last December. He was able to keep his home, where the shooting happened Monday night.
He married April Jace in June 2003, a year after divorcing his first wife, with whom he shared a son who is now a teen.
CNN's Dottie Evans contributed to this report.
Source : http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/20/showbiz/shield-actor-michael-jace-homicide-charge/
