A dog thief who shot Lady Gaga’s dog handler and stole her dogs was sentenced to 21 years in prison on December 5.
James’ ex-convict, Ward Jackson, was arrested in Los Angeles in 2021 for allegedly pistol-whipping Ryan Fisher, a dog school dropout, in an attempt to kidnap Lady Gaga’s prized French bulldogs. Three men, including him, have been charged in the kidnapping of Gaga’s dogs. The other two are already serving sentences.
On the day of the incident, the two perpetrators got out of a car and forced Fischer to hand over the dogs to the dog trainer. The perpetrators took two dogs, Koji and Gustav, with them.
Another dog, Miss Asia, ran away and returned to Fischer. He was seriously wounded in the chest. A month later, he wrote on Instagram that he had a lung infection.
Two days after the incident, a 50-year-old woman handed over the two dogs to the police, but was arrested as a fugitive.
According to police analysis, the perpetrators did not target the dogs because the owner was a celebrity. He said that he stole because he knew that he would get thousands of dollars if he sold it back.
French Bulldogs are small and unfamiliar to people, so they are easy to catch.
Authorities mistakenly released Jackson last April. The US Marshals Service, under the US Department of Justice, even announced a reward of US$5,000 for information.
