The suspect in the Lady Gaga dog walker case has reportedly been mistakenly released from jail.
Last year, Lady Gaga’s dog walker Ryan Fischer was shot while walking the musician’s dogs. He was attacked by two men who then proceeded to steal two of the singer’s French bulldogs.
Now, the alleged shooter in the incident appears to have been mistakenly released from jail according to online records.
James Howard Jackson, 19, was released from custody earlier this week on April 6 according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department website. The reason for the release states that the case has been “dismissed”.
Sources told NBC Los Angeles that the release was due to an administrative error after the case needed to be re-filed last month. As per Rolling Stone, a technicality meant an indictment needed to be amended.
It related to two co-defendants in the case: Harold White, the father of one of the alleged dognappers and Jennifer McBride, who later returned Gaga’s dogs.
Jackson has been in custody for almost a year.
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NME has reached out to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for comment.
Fischer spoke out for the first time after the incident in March, sharing gratitude for first responders and healthcare workers, as well as a deluge of well-wishes from Gaga’s fans.
He said he was expected to fully recover from his injuries. Later that month he revealed that he had part of his lung removed, saying: “Recovery isn’t a straight line.”
Gaga called Fischer a “hero” after the shooting incident in February. Fischer was walking three of the pop star’s dogs when he was shot four times outside his home in West Hollywood.