In a confusing turn of events, 19-year-old James Jackson was able to walk out of jail due to a clerical error.
On Monday, Jackson was cleared to stand trial. The following day, he was arraigned under a grand jury indictment. This meant that he was assigned a new case number. During the transition, Jackson was released from jail by mistake.
The L.A. County DA’s Office released its statement of the incident on Friday.
Mr. Jackson was mistakenly released from custody by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Our office is working with the Sheriff’s Department to ensure Mr. Jackson is returned to custody. (2/3)
— George Gascón (@LADAOffice) April 8, 2022
If anyone has any information, please reach out to the Sheriff’s Department by calling (800) 698-8255. (3/3)
— George Gascón (@LADAOffice) April 8, 2022
The Los Angeles PD is working alongside LASD to apprehend Jackson. The L.A. Sheriff’s Department released a statement on Friday regarding the mixup.
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) is investigating the inadvertent release from custody of Defendant James Howard Jackson. Mr. Jackson was in custody for attempted murder in connection with the shooting of Lady Gaga’s dog walker and the theft of two of the singer’s French Bulldogs which occurred on February 25, 2021. Defendant Jackson attended court proceedings at the Clara Shortridge Criminal Justice Center on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, and was released from custody on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, 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.”
Lady Gaga’s dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot four times in the chest when the dog-napping went down. On Friday, he reacted to the news about Jackson’s mistaken release.
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“While I’m deeply concerned at the events that led to his release, I’m confident law enforcement will rectify the error,” Fischer said in a statement. “I ask for Mr. Jackson to turn himself over to the authorities, so resolution to the crime committed against me runs its course, whatever the courts determine that outcome to be.”
You can see footage of the incident in this ABC News clip:
After the dognapping took place, Lady Gaga had promised $500,000 for the dogs’ safe return. The dogs were found tied to a pole miles away from where the incident occurred. A woman claimed she found and promptly took the dogs to a police station.
At first, it seemed the woman was not connected to the suspects who dog-napped Gaga’s furballs. Afterward, investigations revealed that the woman, 50-year-old Jennifer McBride was in a relationship with one of the suspects.
The Telegraph reported on the twisted affair.
McBride turned out to be in a relationship with the father of one of the suspects, LAPD said on Thursday. It was not immediately clear if she had received the reward.
Police arrested James Jackson, 18, Jaylin White, 19, and Lafayette Whaley, 27, in connection with the violence.
They are charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and second-degree robbery, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Jackson, who authorities say was the shooter, also faces charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and a felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle. White faces one count of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.
White’s father, 40-year-old Harold White, and McBride were arrested and accused of being accessories to the attack. The elder White also was charged with one count of possession of a firearm and McBride faces a charge of receiving stolen property.
Jackson, Whaley and the Whites are all documented gang members, according to the LAPD.