'Shield' actor gets 40 years to life in wife's killing

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An actor who played a police officer on the TV show "The Shield" was sentenced Friday to 40 years to life in prison after tearfully apologizing for fatally shooting his wife but still insisting he didn't mean to kill her.

Michael Jace, 53, was sentenced by a judge in Los Angeles after a jury convicted him last week of second-degree murder in the death of April Jace two years ago.

The two youngest boys witnessed their mother's death at the ages of 8 and 5.

[...] he planned to shoot his wife, an avid runner, in the leg so she would feel pain, Jace said in a recorded interview.

Prosecutor Tannaz Mokayef cited testimony from the couple's now 10-year-old son, who told jurors he heard his father say, "'If you like running, then run to heaven,'" before firing the second time.

Mokayef said the actor was upset his wife wanted a divorce and believed she was having an affair, although no evidence was presented during the trial that she was cheating.