Jail for second dog-napper of Lady Gaga's pooches

LOS ANGELES • A second man charged with stealing Lady Gaga's dogs in an episode during which her dog-walker was shot was jailed on Thursday after admitting to his part in the robbery.

Lafayette Shon Whaley, 28, was ordered to serve six years in prison for second-degree robbery over the theft, which saw the 36-year-old American singer-actress' French bulldogs taken.

Whaley was part of a gang that shot Mr Ryan Fischer as he exercised the three prized pets in Hollywood in February last year.

Mr Fischer sustained chest injuries in the attack and said on social media a month later that he had suffered a collapsed lung.

Two of the three dogs were taken, leading the Poker Face (2008) singer to offer a US$500,000 (S$685,000) reward for their return.

Whaley's sentencing came a week after his accomplice, Jaylin Keyshawn, was jailed, and after suspected gunman, James Howard Jackson, was recaptured.

Jackson had been released from custody in what officials described as a "clerical error". He is charged with attempted murder, second-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and being a felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle.

The woman whom the police said handed in the dogs in response to the reward has been charged with being an accessory after the fact and with receiving stolen goods.

The police said at the time they did not believe the dogs were targeted because of their owner, but because of the breed's appeal on the black market.

Small and friendly - and thus easy to grab - French bulldogs do not have large litters. Their relative scarcity and association with stars such as actors Hugh Jackman and Reese Witherspoon and singer Madonna give them added cachet and mean they can change hands for thousands of dollars.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE