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View Winners → Music Apr 29, 2021
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Three people were charged today with attempted murder in connection with the shooting of Lady Gaga’s dog walker and the theft of two of the singer’s French bulldogs, while two others — including a woman who claimed to have found the dogs — are charged with being accessories after the fact.
Los Angeles police said detectives do not believe the dog walker was targeted because of the dog’s owner, but suspect that the great value of the breed of the dogs was known and was the motivation for the robbery.
In a written statement, District Attorney George Gascon called it “a brazen street crime that left a man seriously wounded.”
“We have alleged very serious charges in this case and have faith that justice will be appropriately served as this case unfolds in court,” the county’s top prosecutor said.
James Howard Jackson, 18, Jaylin Keyshawn White, 19, and Lafayette Shon Whaley, 27, are charged with one count each of attempted murder, second-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Jackson — the alleged gunman — is also charged with one count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, while White is also facing one count of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.
The three, described by Los Angeles police as “documented gang members” from Los Angeles, allegedly approached Lady Gaga’s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, while he was walking three of the singer’s dogs in the 1500 block of North Sierra Bonita Avenue, near Sunset Boulevard on Feb. 24.
Jennifer McBride — who, according to police, reported that she found the dogs and responded to a reward email to return them — was charged with one count each of accessory after the fact and receiving stolen property.
The 50-year-old woman, who brought the dogs to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic Division, allegedly had a relationship with Harold White, the 40-year-old father of one of the suspects, according to police.
Harold White, described by police as a documented gang member, is charged with one count each of being an accessory after the fact and possession of a firearm, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Lady Gaga, who was in Italy filming a movie, had offered a $500,000 reward for her pets’ safe return and praised Fischer, saying he risked his life “to fight for our family. You’re forever a hero.”
In a March 30 Instagram post, Fischer said he had been recovering well from the shooting when his lung collapsed and he had to have emergency surgery.
