Man Who Shot Lady Gaga's Dog Walker In 2021 Gets 21 Years In Prison

The man who shot and wounded Lady Gaga's dog walker while stealing her French bulldogs in Los Angeles last year was sentenced Monday to over two decades in prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

James Howard Jackson, 20, was sentenced to 21 years behind bars after reaching a deal with prosecutors under which he pleaded no contest to one count of attempted murder, TMZ reported.

Jackson also admitted the allegation of inflicting great bodily injury and to a prior strike, a representative for the district attorney's office told the outlet.

Jackson was one of three men and two accomplices who participated in the violent robbery on Feb. 24, 2021, in Hollywood.

Prosecutors alleged that Jackson was the one who fired the gun and shot Lady Gaga's dog walker, Ryan Fischer, that night in an attempt to steal the singer's two French bulldogs, named Koji and Gustav.

At the time, Fischer was walking three of the singer's dogs, according to law enforcement. Koji and Gustav were taken, while the third dog ran away but was later recovered. Gaga was away working on a movie in Rome and offered a $500,000 reward for the return of her dogs.

TMZ obtained a video of the incident, showing the group rolling up and hopping out of a vehicle to attack Fischer, who was shot in the chest in the process of the robbery.

The stolen dogs were returned several days later by Jennifer McBride, who was also charged in the incident. Her case is ongoing.

Jackson was facing the most serious charges among the accused, including attempted murder, conspiracy to commit a robbery and assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

Earlier this year, the gunman was temporarily released from police custody following a clerical error by the sheriff's department. He was recaptured nearly five months later.

Another accomplice, Harold White, pleaded no contest Monday to a count of ex-convict in possession of a gun, the Associated Press reported. White, who was in a relationship with McBride at the time, will be sentenced next year.

The couple had allegedly tried to help White's son, Jaylin White, avoid arrest in the aftermath of the shooting.

Jaylin and Lafayette Whaley earlier this year pleaded no contest to robbery.

Fischer, who suffered a collapsed lung in the shooting and is still undergoing physical therapy, addressed the court Monday to give an impact statement, which he posted on Instagram.

"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," he wrote, according to the Associated Press. "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."

Fischer also said he forgives Jackson and the others involved in the attack, adding, "You completely altered my life, and I know I can't fully move forward from the night you shot me until I said those words to you."