The man who shot Lady GaGa‘s dog walker in Hollywood early last year has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison in a plea deal.
James Howard Jackson (pictured in mugshot above, bottom left) was one of the people who stole the singer’s French Bulldogs one night last February in the Hollywood area. At the time, they were being walked by a man named Ryan Fischer. Sadly, Fischer was shot in the chest during the robbery and severely injured.
Thankfully, Fischer has recovered after considerable medical assistance. He will face the aftermath of the shooting for the rest of his life, though. According to Fox News, he lost part of a lung due to the bullet being lodged in his chest from close range.
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As for the man who shot him, Jackson is going away for a long time. On Monday, according to multiple media reports, Jackson pleaded no contest to one count of attempted murder. Per TMZ, Jackson also admitted in court to “inflicting great bodily injury to a prior strike.”
As part of the plea deal, he has now been sentenced to 21 years in prison. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office released a statement about the plea on Monday afternoon:
“The plea agreement holds Mr. Jackson accountable for perpetrating a coldhearted violent act and provides justice for our victim.”
Good.
For Jackson, the plea deal marks the end of the line on a long list of charges. Along with an extensive prior criminal history, he was facing several more charges in this shooting. Per the AP, he had initially been charged with two more firearm counts, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and a felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle in addition to attempted murder.
It appears Jackson is the first of the five men involved in the shooting to face justice. As TMZ notes, two other men were charged with attempted murder in the shooting. Two more were arrested and booked on accessory allegations and other charges. But as the outlet notes, it’s not clear yet whether those men have taken plea deals or are going to try their hand in court.
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As Perezcious readers will recall, Jackson was accidentally released from a county lockup in El Lay back in April while awaiting trial. Per the Associated Press at the time, jail officials said it was “due to a clerical error.” Thankfully, he was quickly recaptured and sent back to jail. Now, he’ll spend much of the rest of his life in prison.
As we’ve reported, the robbery was unrelated to GaGa. The men who perpetrated the act didn’t know the three dogs — Gustav, Koji, and Asia — even belonged to her. They simply spotted Fischer walking the three expensive animals and targeted him in order to steal them. After the shooting, they got away with Gustav and Koji. Thankfully, the dogs were later found unharmed and returned to GaGa’s team.
Now, it appears justice is starting to be served in this awful case. Thank goodness.
What do U think? Is this a fair sentence? Should it be longer?
[Image via Lady GaGa/Instagram/Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office]