Five people have been arrested and charged in shooting Lady Gaga’s dogwalker and stealing two of her French bulldogs in February.
Three suspects have been charged with attempted murder and robbery and two as accessories after the initial crime, according to a press release from the Los Angeles Police Department on Thursday.
One of the alleged accessories is Jennifer McBride, the 50-year-old woman who returned the singer’s dogs to LAPD’s Olympic Community Police Station two days after the armed robbery. Los Angeles Police Capt. Jonathan Tippet said in February that the woman who returned the dogs appeared to be “uninvolved and unassociated” with the incident.
According to the latest release, however, detectives now believe McBride had a relationship with Harold White, 40, who is the father of one of the attempted murder suspects and a documented Los Angeles gang member. Both he and McBride are being charged as accessories to attempted murder.
The suspects allegedly involved in the robbery and shooting of the victim are 18-year-old James Jackson, 19-year-old Jaylin White and 27-year-old Lafayette Whaley. They are being charged with attempted murder and robbery and are also Los Angeles gang members, the release states.
All fives suspects were charged Thursday.
According to the release, detectives do not believe the suspects were targeting the victim, Ryan Fischer, because of the dogs’ owner. However, evidence suggests the suspects’ knowledge of the value of the dogs’ breed was the motivation for the robbery.
Lady Gaga calls dog walker Ryan Fischer a ‘hero’; family says he’s expected to make ‘full recovery’
Fischer was walking three of the pop star’s dogs on Feb. 24 when a man approached the dog walker and shot him once, according to LAPD Officer Drake Madison.
While walking Gaga’s dogs, a four-door sedan pulled over and two men tried to steal the animals, Los Angeles Police Capt. Jonathan Tippet told the Associated Press at the time. Two of her dogs, Koji and Gustav, were stolen. A third dog was left behind and later recovered.
Lady Gaga’s dogwalker Ryan Fischer speaks out after attack, says singer’s ‘babies are back’
The singer, who was filming a movie in Italy at the time, shared a post of her “beloved” dogs on Instagram, confirming the theft and sending love to Fischer, whom she called a “hero.”
Surveillance video from a neighboring house showed Fischer repeatedly yelling for help as he tried to fight off the suspects. The struggle escalated before one suspect wielding a semiautomatic handgun shot him.
Lady Gaga’s ‘beloved’ French bulldogs recovered safely after armed robbery
Contributing: Rasha Ali, Bill Keveney, Elise Brisco, Cydney Henderson