Five Suspects Arrested in the Lady Gaga Dognapping Case
Including the woman who returned the dogs.
Five people have been arrested and charged in relation to the shooting of Lady Gaga‘s dogwalker and the theft of the singer’s two French bulldogs on February 24 in Hollywood, California.
After several search and arrest warrants were issued on Tuesday to further the investigation, police took five suspects into custody, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department. Three individuals — James Jackson, 18, Jaylin White, 19, and Lafayette Whaley, 27, — were charged with attempted murder and robbery, and two others — Harold White, 40, and Jennifer McBride, 50, — were charged as accessories to murder.
“Detectives do not believe the suspects were targeting the victim because of the dogs’ owner,” the statement read. “However, evidence suggests the suspects knew the great value of the breed of dogs and was the motivation for the robbery.”
Detectives identified McBride as the woman who returned the pop star’s dogs to the LAPD’s Olympic Community Police Station two days after the robbery occurred. Upon further research, investigators confirmed that McBride had a relationship with Harold White, the father of one of the suspects. The statement also said that Jackson, Whaley, Jaylin White and Harold White are all registered gang members in Los Angeles.
The victim of the attack, Ryan Fischer, was shot in the chest during the struggle and is recovering from his non-life threatening injuries. The dogs, Koji and Gustav, were returned unharmed.
View this post on Instagram
All five defendants pleaded not guilty in court late Thursday afternoon and now await their next court appearance on May 11, according to ABC 7 News. Lady Gaga has yet to make a statement.
In other Gaga news, the Gucci family is “truly disappointed” in the upcoming House of Gucci film, in which she stars alongside Adam Driver.
