The man who shot Lady Gaga's dog walker and stole two of her French bulldogs was sentenced to 21 years in prison
- The man who shot Lady Gaga's dog walker and stole her dogs received a 21-year prison sentence.
- James Howard Jackson, 20, was one of three men and two accomplices involved in the 2021 attack.
The man who shot Lady Gaga's dog walker and stole two of the pop star's French bulldogs last year was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Monday, officials said.
James Howard Jackson, 20, who was one of three men and two accomplices involved in the Hollywood attack in February 2021, pleaded no contest to one count of attempted murder with great bodily injury and admitted to a "prior strike," the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said, per a report by The New York Times.
In late February 2021, Gaga's dog walker Ryan Fischer was shot in the chest during the violent robbery around 9:40 p.m., in which two of the singer's dogs Koji and Gustav were taken. Two months later, five people were arrested on charges related to the incident, one of them being Jackson. Police said at the time that detectives "do not believe the suspects were targeting the victim because of the dogs' owner," but instead "knew the great value of the breed of dogs."
Gaga offered a $500,000 reward for any information that led to her dogs being found — "no questions asked." The dogs were returned several days after the robbery by Jennifer McBride, who also faces charges in the incident, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Jackson was mistakenly released from jail in April 2022 due to a "clerical error" before being recaptured by authorities "without incident" earlier this year, officials said.
"The plea agreement holds Mr. Jackson accountable for perpetrating a coldhearted violent act and provides justice for our victim," the office said in a statement.
During the sentencing hearing on Monday, Fischer confronted Jackson, who was the gunman who shot him, and described his long recovery following the harrowing attack.
"You shot me and left me to die, and both of our lives have changed forever," Fischer told Jackson in the Los Angeles courtroom Monday, citing a report by Rolling Stone, adding that the months thereafter he experienced "lung collapse after lung collapse," physical therapy, and "loss of career, friendships, aimlessly traveling the country."
"I do forgive you. With the attack, you completely altered my life. I know I can't completely move on from the night you shot me until I said those words to you," Fischer told Jackson, thanking him for not harming the dogs: "They were returned and returned to their mom. I don't think I could have lived with myself if they died."