Police Offer $5,000 Reward For Alleged Shooter Of Lady Gaga’s Dogwalker After Being Wrongly Released From Prison
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Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@ladygaga/US Marshal Service
Police are offering a reward of $5,000 (£4,100) in the search for the alleged shooter of Lady Gaga's dog walker.
James Howard Jackson, 19, was being held behind bars in Los Angeles on an attempted murder charge, but was accidentally released 'due to a clerical error'.
He is one of the three men who was charged with kidnapping Lady Gaga's French bulldogs back in February 2021.
Dog-walker Ryan Fischer had been walking three of the 'Pokerface' singer's dogs, Asia, Gustav, and Koji, near Sunset Boulevard just before 10pm, when he was confronted by a group of men.
Held at gunpoint, he struggled with the assailants before he was shot and left on the street while the suspects drove off with two of Gaga's bulldogs, Koji and Gustav.
In a video recording of the incident, Fischer could be heard screaming "Oh my God! I've been shot! Help me. I'm bleeding out from my chest!"
After being left in critical condition, Fischer has since recovered from the traumatic incident.
Soon after the shooting and kidnapping, Lady Gaga revealed that she was willing to offer $500,000 (£416,000) for the safe return of her dogs, who were eventually turned in unharmed.
However, the woman who handed the popstar's dogs in to the LAPD was later arrested as an accomplice to the theft.
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In October 2021, a grand jury heard Ryan Fischer's testimony, which accused Jackson of opening fire because he had refused to hand over Gaga's three bulldogs.
"The dog screamed at me, and I reached for him, and then the guy, the man with the gun shot me as I was reaching" he claimed.
Jackson had been charged alongside Jaylin White, 19, and Lafayette Whaley, 27, with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and second-degree robbery.
After an error in the Los Angeles Police Department led to Jackson's accidental release from jail in April 2022, officers have been unable to locate the attempted murder suspect, and are looking for anyone with information on his whereabouts to come forward.
Since his release, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Major Crime Team have requested help from the US Marshal Service.
Publicising the news of his disappearance this week the US Marshals have described Jackson as a black male, with black hair and brown eyes. He stands 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 120 pounds.
They have also warned that Jackson should be considered 'armed and dangerous.'
