Photo Credit: Chuttersnap
U.S. Marshals are offering a reward of $5,000 for information leading to the re-capture of Lady Gaga’s dog kidnapper.
The press release says James Howard Jackson (19) was “erroneously released from custody on April 6, 2022 due to a clerical error.” Jackson is alleged to have shot dog walker Ryan Fischer with a .40-caliber handgun while Fischer was walking three French bulldogs in Los Angeles. Fischer sustained a gunshot wound to the chest during the altercation and was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
At least two of the French bulldogs were taken by the attackers. Police later arrested five people in April in connection with the attack – two were charged as accessories after the fact. James Howard Jackson (19), Jaylin White (19), and Lafayette Whaley (27) were all charged with one count of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, and second-degree robbery.
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the inadvertent release from custody of defendant James Howard Jackson,” the department said in a statement released in April 2022.
“Defendant Jackson attended court proceedings at a Clara Shortridge Criminal Justice Center on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, and was released from custody on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, due to a clerical error. The investigation is continuing, and the LASD Major Crimes Bureau is actively working on getting Mr. Jackson back into custody.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Major Crime Team has sought U.S. Marshals assistance in finding Jackson. He is described as a black male with black hair and brown eyes. He is around 5 feet 6 inches tall and is estimated to weigh around 120 pounds. Marshals warn that Jackson should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information about his current whereabouts should contact law enforcement via the USMS Tips app.
Jackson was in custody for the alleged crime for nearly a year before the erroneous release. He was being held in lieu of a $3 million bail. The man the defendants shot testified during a secret grand jury proceeding in October 2021. “They pointed down to the dogs, that they wanted the dogs, and I said ‘no.’ And I started to scream for help and tried to fight back,” Fischer said about the altercation with the men.
Fischer describes the man with the gun throwing him onto the concrete and choking him. Fischer shares he grabbed a bottle of champagne purchased at a store and hit the man choking him, breaking free. When he lunged for one of the dogs, the man holding the gun shot him.