The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of $5,000 for information about the man who was charged last year with stealing two of Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs and the shooting of her dog walker. He was accidentally released from a Los Angeles County jail in April.
James Howard Jackson, 19, was one of the five suspects detained in connection with the brutal robbery in February 2021. He was facing charges including attempted murder and second-degree robbery, and was “erroneously released from custody” because of a “clerical error” after he was indicted, the agency said in a news release.
“Jackson should be considered armed and dangerous,” the agency said. “Anyone with information as to his whereabouts should contact law enforcement immediately.”
Detectives do not think the burglars understood at first that the pop star, who was in Rome at the time filming a movie, owned the dogs. The value of the French bulldogs, which can reach thousands of dollars, was allegedly the driving factor. The canines were eventually given back by a woman who claimed to have found them; she was then apprehended and discovered to be dating the father of another suspect.
The dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot in the chest while walking Lady Gaga’s three dogs, Asia, Koji, and Gustav, in Hollywood.
A white automobile is seen pulling up in video footage from the doorbell camera of a nearby house, and two men leap out. During their battle with Fischer, one of them produced a gun and fired one round before escaping with Koji and Gustav, two of the dogs. Fischer can be seen shouting, “Oh, my God! I’ve been shot,” “help me,” and that his chest was bleeding.
In an Instagram post two days after Jackson’s release, Fischer said that Jackson should surrender.
“I ask for Mr. Jackson to turn himself over to the authorities,” Fischer wrote, “so resolution to the crime committed against me runs its course, whatever the courts determine that outcome to be.”
When the dogs went missing, Lady Gaga offered a $500,000 prize—”no questions asked”—to be reunited with them. Whether or not the singer will also contribute to a reward for Jackson’s capture is unclear at this time.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Major Crime Team requested the help of the U.S. Marshals Service to find and arrest Jackson.
James Howard Jackson was accidentally released from custody, according to a statement made by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in April. “Defendant Jackson appeared in court on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at the Clara Shortridge Criminal Justice Center and was released from detention on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, as a result of a typing error. The LASD Major Crimes Bureau is aggressively working to return Mr. Jackson to custody while the inquiry is ongoing.”
Before his release, Jackson had been detained for almost a year and was being held in lieu of more than $3 million bail.
According to the prosecution, “the old case was then dismissed by a court as required by law” after Jackson was arraigned on the fresh superseding indictment that had been submitted under a new case number.”
