Update: The man charged with stealing Lady Gaga's dogs and shooting her dog walker has been recaptured after he was accidentally released from custody in April. Authorities blamed a clerical error for the release of James Howard Jackson while awaiting trial. He was re-arrested Wednesday, the AP reports. Our original story from July 20 follows:
Authorities are upping the ante in the hunt for a man accused of shooting Lady Gaga's dog walker. James Howard Jackson, 19, was mistakenly released from custody in April after being indicted on robbery and attempted murder charges following the February 2021 attack on Ryan Fischer, who was shot in the chest while walking the pop singer's three French bulldogs. On Monday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Major Crime Team announced it had recruited the US Marshals Service to help track down Jackson, with the latter offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to Jackson's capture, reports the New York Times.
"Jackson should be considered armed and dangerous," the Marshals Service says in a release, calling for anyone with information on him to reach out ASAP to law enforcement. Per the Los Angeles Times, Jackson was found competent to stand trial in April, and he was indicted April 6. However, his arraignment led to a new case number, and shortly after that he was released from custody by the sheriff's department, according to a Los Angeles County DA's office spokesperson. "We are unsure as to why they did so," that rep told the LA Times at the time. Fischer, meanwhile, has made a public plea to Jackson to turn himself in.
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"I ask for Mr. Jackson to turn himself over to the authorities, so resolution to the crime committed against me runs its course, whatever the courts determine that outcome to be," Fischer, who was critically wounded in the attack, posted on Instagram after Jackson's release. Jackson is described as a Black male with black hair and brown eyes, said to be about 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing about 120 pounds. Two other men—19-year-old Jaylin White and 27-year-old Lafayette Whaley—have also been hit with robbery and attempted murder charges in the case, though it was Jackson who allegedly pulled the trigger using a .40-caliber handgun. Two others have also been charged, accused of being accessories after the fact. (More Lady Gaga stories.)
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