James Howard Jackson, the man who shot and almost killed Lady Gaga’s dog walker before stealing two of her three French bulldogs last year, was sentenced to 21 years in prison after pleading no contest on an attempted murder charge on Monday. Authorities say the 20-year-old was one of three accomplices who helped stage the robbery as they drove through Hollywood on February 24, 2021, looking for French bulldogs to capture.
Authorities say it was a coincidence that they ended up catching Gaga’s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, taking the singer’s dogs for a walk when the violent incident occurred. According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, there was no connection between James plotting to go after Gaga’s dogs in particular — the goal was simply to steal as many bulldogs as possible, given their hefty price tag, which can run into the thousands of dollars.
The man who shot Lady Gaga’s dog walker and stole her dogs is sentenced to 21 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/LtJlqdYZyS
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) December 5, 2022
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The Grammy winner’s dogs, Koji and Gustav, were returned less than a week later after Gaga went on social media, saying she would give a $500,000 reward to anyone who could locate her beloved pets. Police officials later determined that the woman who claimed to have found the bulldogs was connected to the robbery and therefore charged in the crime. James took a plea deal that will see him serve 21 years in prison, the DA’s office announced.
“The plea agreement holds Mr. Jackson accountable for perpetrating a coldhearted violent act and provides justice for our victim,” they said in a statement. His full list of charges was attempted murder, conspiracy to commit a robbery, and assault with a semiautomatic firearm. Given the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to only uphold the attempted murder charge.
Back in April, James was accidentally released from prison following a “clerical error” that took law enforcement officers four months to re-arrest him in August.
me when i meet lady gaga pic.twitter.com/4qgwebadC2
— 🌷 (@AMENARTPOP) November 28, 2022
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The third dog that Ryan was taking for a walk — Miss Asia — fled the scene after a struggle ensured that led to one gunshot being fired seconds later. She returned to the dog walker after the criminals had left with Koji and Gustav. At the time of the incident, Gaga, who was heartbroken by the news, was out in Italy filming her movie, “House Of Gucci.”
The singer has yet to comment on the prison sentence issued to the man who shot her dog walker and kidnapped her dogs.