The Man Who Allegedly Shot Lady Gaga’s Dog Walker Ryan Fischer Was Accidentally Released From Jail
Even when a horrible dog-napping story feels like it’s all wrapped up with a conclusive ending, it might not be. In February 2021, Lady Gaga’s dog walker Ryan Fischer was shot in the chest by a stranger who then kidnapped two of the three dogs he was out walking at the time, Gaga’s French bulldogs Koji and Gustav. Arrests were made, the dogs were returned safe, and Ryan began his recovery. Dog-napping and attempted murder feels like more than enough reasons for a criminal to spend a long time on an uncomfortable prison bunk. But the man who allegedly shot is already out of jail. The only issue: He’s not actually supposed to be out of jail right now. Whoopsies.
Ryan was walking three of Gaga’s dogs: the aforementioned Koji and Gustav, and Miss Asia, who was not stolen, and therefore likely didn’t need as much doggy PTSD recovery therapy as her canine siblings (Gaga was out of the country filming House of Gucci at the time). It was touch and go in the beginning, but Ryan managed to pull through and survive his gunshot wounds, and Gaga’s dogs were returned safe and sound a few days later to an LAPD station. Five people associated with the dog-napping were arrested: three for attempted murder, conspiracy to commit and second-degree robbery, and two for accessory after the fact. But one of the suspects, 19-year-old James Howard Jackson, was given two additional firearms charges, as he was the one allegedly holding the gun that shot Ryan. And now he’s a free man, apparently, according to an alleged clerical error. via People magazine:
According to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, James Howard Jackson, 19, was released Wednesday “due to a clerical error.”
“The investigation is continuing and the LASD Major Crimes Bureau is actively working to get Mr. Jackson back in custody,” says the statement, which describes Jackson’s release as “inadvertent.”
People adds that jail records don’t show whether James Howard Jackson has entered any pleas in his case, or even if he has an attorney. James Jackson was charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, second-degree robbery, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and a felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle. And now he’s…I don’t know, hitting up a Wendy’s drive-thru and treating himself to three JBCs as a reward for a job well done. Of course, we don’t know if James Howard Jackson is responsible for his own release, like if he approached a guard with a pretend mustache made from a 99-cent commissary comb and said, “Hi, it’s me – another jail guard, I forgot my lunch in my car, can you let me out so I can go get it?“. There is a chance someone from jail administration knocked on the bars and informed James he was free to leave, before realizing that they’re about to spend the next several hours of their life getting their ass verbally handed to them by higher-ups.
That statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department makes it pretty clear that the police are looking for James Jackson as we speak, so he might not want to get too comfortable where he is. Plus, let’s face it – James definitely isn’t resting comfortably upon his accidental release. Sure, he’s no longer in jail. But now he’s on the streets. You know who else is on the outside? Koji, Gustav, and Miss Asia. They’ve probably been sharpening their little Frenchie toenails in anticipation of running into the man who shot their favorite dog walker. Revenge is a dish best served small, and in a little ceramic food dish shaped like a dog bone (awwwww).
Pic: Instagram