Lady Gaga bulldog heist: suspects charged with attempted murder
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| Lady Gaga sings the national anthem at Joe Biden's inauguration as President of the United States in Washington in January. South China Morning Post |
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Three men were charged with attempted murder and robbery on Thursday in the theft of singer Lady Gaga's dogs in February, authorities said, a crime that saw her dog walker shot on a street in Hollywood.
The suspects are three men ages 18, 19 and 27, and two were also charged with assault, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office said in a statement.
"This was a brazen street crime that left a man seriously wounded," District Attorney George Gascon was quoted as saying, underscoring the "very serious" nature of the case.
The three, described by Los Angeles police as "documented gang members," allegedly approached Lady Gaga's dog walker Ryan Fischer while he was out with the singer's French bulldogs near Sunset Boulevard on February 24.
Two suspects got out of a vehicle and demanded Fischer hand over the pets at gunpoint. He was shot once in a struggle with the two men who fled with two of the dogs, Koji and Gustav, police said.
A third dog, Miss Asia, ran away during the encounter before returning to the wounded Fischer, and was later recovered by law enforcement at the scene.
Fischer is recovering from a gunshot wound and has called the violence "a very close call with death" in social media posts.
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Video from the doorbell camera of a nearby home captured Fischer's screams of, "Oh, my God! I've been shot!" and "Help me!" and "I'm bleeding out from my chest!"
Lady Gaga offered a $500,000 reward - "no questions asked" - to be reunited with the dogs. The singer had been in Rome at the time filming a movie.
Police said they do not believe the suspects targeted the dogs because of their famous owner, but because French bulldogs are a coveted breed that can sell for thousands of dollars.
James Jackson, 18; Jaylin White, 19; and Lafayette Whaley, 27, were charged on Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder and robbery.
Two other suspects, considered accomplices by prosecutors, include a 50-year-old Jennifer McBride, who turned the pets over to police two days after the theft.
McBride said she had found the dogs in the street. Police had initially said she appeared to be "uninvolved and unassociated" with the crime. It was not immediately clear if she had received the reward.
Authorities said McBride was in a relationship with White's father, 40-year-old Harold White. They were both arrested on suspicion of accessory attempted murder.
All five were being held on $1 million bail each, online jail records show.
Lady Gaga did not immediately address the arrests on her social media accounts on Thursday afternoon. Fischer and Lady Gaga's representatives did not respond to requests for comment.