Man who allegedly shot Lady Gaga's dog walker freed by mistake

LOS ANGELES • The United States Marshals Service this week announced a US$5,000 (S$7,000) reward for information that leads to the capture of a 19-year-old man who was charged last year with stealing two of pop superstar Lady Gaga's French bulldogs and shooting her dog walker - but was accidentally released from a Los Angeles jail in April.

James Howard Jackson, who faces charges including attempted murder and second-degree robbery, was "erroneously released from custody" because of a clerical error after he was indicted, said the agency in a news release.

"Jackson should be considered armed and dangerous," it added. "Anyone with information as to his whereabouts should contact law enforcement immediately."

Mr Ryan Fischer, the dog walker who was shot in the chest during the attack in February last year, said in an Instagram post two days after Jackson's accidental release on April 6 that Jackson should surrender.

"I ask for Jackson to turn himself over to the authorities, so resolution to the crime committed against me runs its course, whatever the courts determine that outcome to be," Mr Fischer wrote.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Major Crime Team requested the help of the US Marshals Service to find and arrest Jackson, the service said on Monday.

In addition to Jackson, four others are charged in connection with the attack. Jaylin White and Lafayette Whaley were involved in the robbery and shooting, said the authorities, while Harold White and Jennifer McBride were accused of being accessories after the shooting.

Mr Fischer was walking in Hollywood with Lady Gaga's three French bulldogs at about 9.40pm on Feb 24 last year when a car pulled up next to him.

Surveillance video from a nearby home showed two men getting out of the car and fighting with Mr Fischer. He screamed repeatedly, and moments later was shot. The three men then grabbed two of the dogs and fled in a car, said prosecutors.

Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, offered a US$500,000 reward for the return of her dogs Koji and Gustav. McBride, one of those charged, reported that she had found the dogs and responded to a reward e-mail to return them.

The authorities said they believe the men targeted the dog walker because French bulldogs are valuable, not because they knew the 36-year-old singer owned the dogs.

NYTIMES