The man who abducted and assaulted an employee of American singer Lady Gaga was sentenced to 21 years in prison, Monday, in Los Angeles.
James Howard Jackson, 20, admitted to attempted murder after he and a group of others assaulted Ryan Fisher in February 2021. The attack occurred while Fisher was walking his three French bulldogs in Hollywood.
“James Howard Jackson will be held accountable for his violent and cruel actions through this plea agreement,” said a statement from the attorney general’s office.
The footage from the CCTV camera revealed two men exiting a car that was near the employee before they shot him in the chest.
The two men grabbed two of the dogs and ran away, leaving Ryan Fisher bleeding on the ground. A third dog got away but returned to sit near the hurt employee.
Later, Ryan Fisher took to Instagram to say that he had lung damage.
On Monday, in court, Jackson stated he would not appeal a verdict for attempted murder and admitted to brutally injuring Brian Fisher. He was then sentenced to 21 years in prison.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said that the plea agreement “holds (…) Jackson responsible for committing an act of violence in cold blood, and delivers justice to the victim.”
Fisher appeared in court on Monday to deliver his statements criticizing the accused. He emphasized how much being shot changed his life forever.
On February 24, 2021, five suspects were arrested in connection with the shooting of Gaga’s dog walker and the subsequent grooming and abduction. Jackson was one of those five.
Coocoge and Gustav, two French bulldogs, were found two days after they were kidnapped.
The police department said that the evidence suggests the robbers picked these 3 dogs based off of their breed’s value, but it is doubtful they knew who owned them before stealing them.
While in Rome, Gaga discovers that her dogs have been kidnapped and reaches out to the public for help through social media.
Gaga, who has multiple hit songs such as “Just Dance” or “Bad Romance”, offered a $ 500,000 reward for the return of her two dogs.
After being found and returned by a woman, the boys were again arrested. The police explained that the reward had been promised to the woman by the father of one of the attackers.
James Howard Jackson was released on April 6 due to an administrative error and, as a result, arrested four months later.
After his partners, Gaylen Kishon White (20) and Lafayette Sean Wiley (28), were both sentenced to four and six years in prison respectively, this punishment was doled out.
