LOS ANGELES – The man who reportedly shot Lady Gaga’s dog walker and stole her dogs last year has taken a plea deal. He has been sentenced to 21 years in prison.
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James Howard Jackson has pleaded no contest to a count of attempted murder, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office per The Associated Press. Jackson was reportedly one of three men and two accomplices in a violent robbery in Los Angeles last year, where Lady Gaga’s dog walker was shot and her French dogs were stolen.
Officials say the connection with Lady Gaga was a coincidence, according to the AP. However, the motive was the value of hte French bulldogs. Apparently, the breed is valued at thousands of dollars.
Lady Gaga’s dog walker shot, 2 French bulldogs stolen
Jackson and the other suspects drove around Hollywood on Feb. 24, 2021 searching for French bulldogs, according to prosecutors said previously. This is when they came upon Lady Gaga’s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, according to the AP. Fischer was shot as the suspects got the dogs in the robbery.
The DA’s office said, according to the AP, that Jackson reportedly admitted to “the allegation of inflicting great bodily injury and to a prior strike” and he has been sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Officials: Suspect mistakenly freed in Lady Gaga’s dog theft case has been recaptured in California
Jackson was mistakenly freed on April 6 from a Los Angeles county jail where he was being held for his alleged involvement in the shooting of Lady Gaga’s dog walker and stealing her French bulldogs.In August, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that he was recaptured. He was mistakenly released due to a clerical error, LACSD said.
According to the AP, Jackson was one of five people arrested in connection with the attack on Lady Gaga’s dog walker and the stealing of her French bulldogs, which happened on February 24, 2021. One of three men charged in the case pleaded no contest to second-degree robbery. Jaylin Keyshawn White, 20, was sentenced to four years in a California state prison.
Fischer lost part of his lung as a result of the attack but has been recovering. Lady Gaga’s dogs were returned two days later by a woman who said she found the dogs tied up to a pole and had asked about the reward. According to the AP, she was charged with receiving stolen property.
Check out these memorable photos of pop superstar Lady Gaga through the years.
2008: Lady Gaga poses backstage during MTV’s Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios on August 12, 2008, in New York City.
2009: Queen Elizabeth II meets singer Lady Gaga following the Royal Variety Performance on December 7, 2009, in Blackpool, England.
2010: Singer Lady Gaga poses in the press room during the MTV Video Music Awards at NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE on September 12, 2010, in Los Angeles.
2011: Singer Lady Gaga performs onstage during the MTV Europe Music Awards 2011 live show at at the Odyssey Arena on November 6, 2011, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
2012: Lady Gaga performs on the catwalk by Philip Treacy on Day 3 of London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013, at the Royal Courts of Justice on September 16, 2012, in London.
2013: Singer Lady Gaga attends the 2013 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 24, 2013, in Los Angeles.
2014: Designer Donatella Versace (left) and Musician Lady Gaga attends the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter on March 2, 2014, in West Hollywood, California.
2015: Recording Artists Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga perform onstage during The 57th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on February 8, 2015, in Los Angeles.
2015: Recording artist Lady Gaga attends the 87th annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 22, 2015, in Hollywood, California.
2016: Recording artist Lady Gaga attends the 88th annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 28, 2016, in Hollywood, California.
2017: Musician Lady Gaga performs onstage during the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl LI Halftime Show at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017, in Houston.
2018: Lady Gaga walks the red carpet ahead of the "A Star Is Born" screening during the 75th Venice Film Festival at Sala Grande on August 31, 2018, in Venice, Italy.
2019: Lady Gaga, winner of Best Original Song for "Shallow" from "A Star is Born," poses in the press room during the 91st annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on February 24, 2019, in Hollywood, California.
2019: Lady Gaga attends the 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2019, in New York City.
2020: Lady Gaga attends AT&T TV Super Saturday Night at Meridian at Island Gardens on February 1, 2020, in Miami.
2021: Lady Gaga sings the National Anthem at the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
2021: Lady Gaga attends the UK premiere of "House of Gucci" at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on November 9, 2021, in London.
2022: Lady Gaga attends the 64th annual Grammy Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 3, 2022, in Las Vegas.