A man mistakenly released from LA County jail while awaiting trial for the shooting and robbery of Lady Gaga’s friend and dog walker has been recaptured.
James Howard Jackson, 19, was arrested Wednesday without incident by members of a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force, multiple law enforcement sources told NBC4’s I-Team.
Jackson is one of five people charged in the February, 2021 assault on Ryan Fischer, who was shot as he walked the singer’s dogs on a sidestreet in Hollywood.
He was released from jail in April, 2022 after a computer system was updated and incorrectly indicated all charges against him had been dismissed.
The news comes as one of three men charged in the case pleaded no contest to second-degree robbery.
Jaylin Keyshawn White, 20, was immediately sentenced to four years in state prison in connection with the robbery plea and a sentence enhancement that another defendant was armed, according to Deputy District Attorney Michele Hanisee.
Three other charges — attempted murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury — were dismissed as a result of his plea, the prosecutor said.
White was charged in April 2021 along with Jackson, and Lafayette Shon Whaley, 28, in connection with the Feb. 24, 2021, shooting.
The U.S. Marshals Service announced a reward of up to $5,000 last month for information leading to Jackson’s arrest.
Fischer was walking three French bulldogs belonging to the singer when he was shot, and two of the dogs were stolen in the 1500 block of North Sierra Bonita Avenue, near Sunset Boulevard.
Surveillance video from a home security system shows Fischer walking on the sidewalk when a white sedan pulls up and stops in the street, with two people jumping from the back seat and saying, “Give it up.”
A struggle ensued and one gunshot was fired, prompting Fischer to fall to the ground, screaming. The assailants each grabbed one dog — named Koji and Gustav — and got back into the rear seat of the car, leaving Fischer on the ground yelling for help.
The singer’s other bulldog, Miss Asia, ran back to Fischer on the ground after the assailants’ vehicle disappeared from view.
Jennifer McBride — who police said reported that she found the dogs and responded to a reward email to return them — is charged with one count each of being an accessory after the fact and receiving stolen property.
The 52-year-old woman, who brought the dogs to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic Division, allegedly had a relationship with Harold White, the now-42-year-old father of Jaylin White, according to police and prosecutors.
Harold White is charged with one count each of being an accessory after the fact and possession of a firearm with an enumerated prior conviction involving a firearm.
Lady Gaga, who was in Italy filming a movie at the time of the shooting, 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 Instagram post about a month after the crime, Fischer said he had been recovering well from the shooting when his lung collapsed and he had to have emergency surgery.
Los Angeles police said detectives did not believe the victim was targeted because of the dogs’ owner, but suspect that the great value of the breed was known and was the motivation for the robbery.
