Man Who Shot Lady Gaga’s Dog Walker Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison

James Howard Jackson, the man who shot and injured Lady Gaga’s dog walker while stealing two of her French bulldogs, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison.

On Monday, Jackson, who is one of three men and two accomplices who participated in the robbery, accepted a plea deal for his role in the crime, and pleaded no contest to one count of attempted murder, the Associated Press reported, citing the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He had been charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit a robbery, and assault with a semiautomatic firearm. An accomplice, Harold White, also pleaded no contest on Monday and will be sentenced next year. Earlier this year, White’s son Jaylin White pleaded no contest to second-degree robbery and was sentenced to four years in state prison, when Lafayette Whaley pleaded no contest to the same charge and received a six-year prison sentence.

In February of last year, the dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot in the chest with a .40-caliber handgun, and the assailants made off with two of the singer’s three French bulldogs, Koji and Gustav. The third, Miss Asia, managed to escape and ran away, but was later recovered and seen being carried home by one of Gaga’s bodyguards, the Daily Mail reported at the time. The other two dogs were recovered several days later by Jennifer McBride, who was also later charged in the crime. McBride’s case is ongoing, the AP noted Monday.

Police who arrived at the scene discovered Fischer seriously injured, but conscious, and he was then taken to a nearby hospital. In a social media post shortly after the shooting, Fischer said that he had “a very close call with death,” adding, “a lot of healing still needs to happen, but I look forward to the future and the moment when I get bombarded with kisses and licks (and maybe even an excitement pee?) from Asia, Koji, and Gustav.” Authorities have said that the perpetrators did not specifically target the three French bulldogs because of their famous owner, but believe their motive was the value of the dogs themselves, as the breed can retail for thousands of dollars.

Fischer also addressed the court on Monday to deliver an impact statement, which he later shared on his Instagram account. It read, “It’s hard to believe that it’s nearing two years since I was taking Asia, Koji, and Gustav out for an evening stroll when—in an instant—I suddenly found myself fighting with everything I had to protect those dogs from being stolen. But it wasn’t enough: I was beaten, strangled, shot, and left to die bleeding out on a sidewalk and gasping for my life. And Koji and Gustav were gone.” He went on to share the details of his hospital stay, which included “lung collapse after lung collapse and eventual surgery and partial removal,” as well as physical therapy to restore mobility and sensation in his shoulder, chest, and hand. He added that over the past year he has gone “into debt, contemplated suicide, and struggled—and continue to struggle—with my identity and how to move past such a life-changing, earth-shattering event.”