Lady Gaga Dognapper Sentenced to Four Years for Near-Death Attack

One of Lady Gaga's three accused dognappers, Jaylin White, 20, was sentenced to four years in federal court yesterday, after pleading no contest Wednesday to second-degree robbery. The theft of two of the singer's French bulldogs made headlines back in February 2021, but the trauma has been ongoing for Ryan Fischer, the dogwalker who was brutally shot and attacked during the theft. Although Gaga's dogs were returned unharmed, Fischer gave an emotional plea the day before White's verdict, crying in court while describing the trauma he suffered. To hear new details about what exactly went down, read on.

What exactly went down that night? "Fischer was walking three French bulldogs belonging to the singer when he was shot, and two of the dogs were stolen in the 1500 block of North Sierra Bonita Avenue, near Sunset Boulevard. Surveillance video from a home security system shows Fischer walking on the sidewalk when a white sedan pulls up and stops in the street, with two people jumping from the back seat and saying, "Give it up,'" reports CNS. "A struggle ensued and one gunshot was fired, prompting Fischer to fall to the ground, screaming. The assailants each grabbed one dog — named Koji and Gustav — and got back into the rear seat of the car, leaving Fischer on the ground yelling for help."

"The car basically came in, at an angle," Fischer told Gayle King. "There was no doubt in my head that they were stopping for me." 

"I was scared. I was in pain. I had a feeling when they came up, pulled the gun on me, that I was going to end up being shot. In my mind, I was like, 'There's no way I'm not going to fight for these dogs.'" Fischer told King. He has nerve damage from the gunshot and lost part of his lung. "You left me bleeding out and gasping for my life," Fischer said to the court on Wednesday, according to Rolling Stone. "I did almost die that night." He added: "But it's the mental and emotional trauma you caused that night that's been much worse," he said.

Allegedly, White did not act alone, say authorities. "Three other charges — attempted murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury — were dismissed as a result of his plea, the prosecutor said," reports CNS. "White was charged in April 2021 along with James Howard Jackson, now 19, and Lafayette Shon Whaley, now 28, in connection with the Feb. 24, 2021, shooting." One had to be recaptured. Jackson "was arrested Wednesday nearly five months after he was released from jail while awaiting trial 'due to a clerical error,' the county Sheriff's Department said in a statement," says NPR.

"I will lead a purposeful life that serves others and myself, and that's my wish for you. My wish for you is the same. After you serve your time, if you want to make amends, find some meaning out of this. Find a life of purpose and serve those around you. That will mean more to me than any sort of time that you serve," Fischer told White in court, per Rolling Stone.

Lady Gaga has yet to comment publicly on the verdict but Fischer told King:  "She's been a friend for me. After I was attacked, my family was flown out and I had trauma therapists flown to me. I stayed at her house for months while friends comforted me and security was around me." Fischer has said he suspects his attackers didn't even know the dogs were hers. "The one thing I've noticed in L.A. while walking the dogs is people say out of the cars, 'How much are those dogs worth?' How much are they? Can I buy them?' That part was always surprising–the viewing of a dog as a commodity," he told King.