A second man charged with stealing Lady Gaga's French bulldogs was sent to jail on Thursday after confessing to playing a part in the crime.
Lafayette Shon Whaley, 28, was handed a sentence of six years in prison for second-degree robbery for his involvement in the theft.
Whaley was part of a gang who shot dog walker Ryan Fischer as he walked the Shallow singer’s dogs in Hollywood, California, in February 2021.
Mr Fischer suffered a collapsed lung and called the experience "a very close call with death" on his social media.
He was walking Lady Gaga's three dogs — Asia, Koji and Gustav — in Hollywood just off Sunset Boulevard when he was attacked.
The doorbell camera of a nearby home filmed a white sedan pulling up and two men jumping out.
They struggled with Mr Fischer and one pulled a gun and fired a single shot before fleeing with two of the dogs, Koji and Gustav.
Mr Fischer’s screams of, “Oh, my God, I’ve been shot," “Help me,” and “I’m bleeding out from my chest" can be heard on the video.
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Lady Gaga, left, signs autographs to her fans as she arrives at Dubai Airport. Ali Haider / EPA -
Lady Gaga, left, arrives at Dubai Airport. Ali Haider / EPA -
Lady Gaga’s artRAVE concert will take place in Dubai’s Meydan Racecourse on September 10. Ali Haider / EPA -
Lady Gaga arrives at Dubai International airport as part of her fourth world tour as ArtRave: The Artpop Ball Tour, where she will perform at the at Meydan Racecourse on September 10. Karim Sahib / AFP photo -
Lady Gaga signs her autograph for fans as she arrives at Dubai International airport. Karim Sahib / AFP photo -
Lady Gaga arrives at Dubai International airport. Karim Sahib / AFP photo -
Lady Gaga, left, poses for a picture with her fans. Ali Haider / EPA -
Lady Gaga arrives at Dubai Airport. Ali Haider / EPA -
Lady Gaga, centre, arrives at Dubai Airport. Ali Haider / EPA -
Lady Gaga signs autographs for fans as she arrives at Dubai International airport. Karim Sahib / AFP photo -
Lady Gaga signs autographs for fans as she arrives at Dubai International airport. Karim Sahib / AFP photo -
Lady Gaga leaves in a car after arriving at Dubai Airport. Ali Haider / EPA
Lady Gaga offered a $500,000 reward, "no questions asked", to be reunited with the dogs. The singer had been in Rome when the shooting and theft occurred.
Two days later, Koji and Gustav were returned to a police station by Jennifer McBride, 50, who officers said appeared to be “uninvolved and unassociated” with the crime.
It was soon discovered that McBride was in a relationship with the father of one of the suspects, police said, and has been charged with being an accessory after the fact and with receiving stolen goods.
Whaley's sentencing came a week after accomplice Jaylin Keyshawn was jailed, and after suspected gunman James Howard Jackson was recaptured.
He had been released from custody in what officials described as a "clerical error”.
Mr Jackson is charged with attempted murder, second-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and being a felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle.
French bulldogs are a “designer pet breed” favoured by many A-list stars such as Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Jackman, Chrissy Teigen, Leonardo DiCaprio and Madonna.
The average price of the small pup is $3,000.
In two separate instances, socialite Paris Hilton’s pups were stolen in Los Angeles and later returned, although reward posters placed around her Hollywood Hills neighbourhood were snatched and sold on eBay.
Four thousand lucky dogs prepare for permanent homes — in pictures
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Volunteers will help them adjust the dogs to people before they are sent to foster homes or adopted. Getty Images / AFP -
Daniel, a staff member with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue, hugs a beagle after returning from the Paw Prints Animal Hospital in Maryland for veterinary appointments. Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images / AFP -
A beagle's teeth are shown prior to dental work at Paw Prints Animal Hospital and before going to a foster home. Getty Images / AFP -
Jazmynne, a veterinary technician, trims the fingernails of a sedated beagle in Waldorf, Maryland. Getty Images / AFP -
A beagle rescued from Envigo breeding and research facility waits to be taken to Paw Prints Animal Hospital for a medical check up. Getty Images / AFP -
Homeward Trails Animal Rescue partnered with Paw Prints clinic to get rescued pets spayed and neutered as well as dental work, and heartworm treatment done before they are sent to foster homes or adopted. Getty Images / AFP -
Once in peril of being tortured, these rescued beagles now run freely. Getty Images / AFP -
Homeward Trails has been working to find homes for 500 of the 4,000 beagles recently rescued from Envigo, which was shut down due to multiple violations for animal cruelty. Getty Images / AFP -
Jazmynne, a veterinary technician, places a beagle in a calming room after it was recently spayed at Paw Prints Animal Hospital. Getty Images / AFP -
The purebred pooches will be available for adoption after getting proper vet care. Getty Images / AFP -
Beagles from Homeward Trails Animal Rescue are placed in a transportation vehicle before going to a veterinary clinic for spay and neuter operations. Getty Images / AFP -
Volunteers play rescued beagles at Homeward Trails Animal Rescue. Getty Images / AFP -
A pup is readied for bedtime. Getty Images / AFP -
Staff members with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue place beagles in their crates before their bedtime. Getty Images / AFP -
Rescued from potential torture, this beagle may soon have a new home. Getty Images / AFP -
Volunteers with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue sit and watch a movie with the lucky dogs. Getty Images / AFP -
Volunteers pet and hold the animals daily. Getty Images / AFP -
Beagles at Westminster Kennel Dog Show in the UK. Not all of the breed have it so lucky, and animal rights activists have been hitting the streets claiming that a dog's place is in the home, not the lab. AP -
Camp Beagle is a protest camp on the roadside set up outside beagle breeder Marshal BioResources Acres in Cambridgeshire, the UK, in August 2021. The company's pups are sold to animal testing laboratories. Sopa Images / LightRocket / Getty -
Beagle breeder Marshal BioResources Acres in Cambridgeshire, the UK, sells its puppies to animal testing laboratories. Sopa Images / LightRocket / Getty -
A protester outside Marshal BioResources Acres. Sopa Images / LightRocket / Getty -
Residents of Camp Beagle and their supporters gather outside Marshal BioResources. Sopa Images / LightRocket / Getty -
Singer Will Young during an anti-vivisection demonstration outside the MBR Acres research site in April. Photo: tcm.digital -
Young and other activists during an anti-vivisection demonstration outside the MBR Acres research site. Photo: tcm.digital -
Protesters rally against Vivotecnia, a laboratory alleged to have used more than 30 beagle puppies for drug research, in Sant Jaume square in Barcelona, Spain, in January. EPA -
The protesters in Barcelona took along their own pups. EPA -
Vivotecnia is alleged to have used more than 30 beagle pups for drug research. EPA -
Beagles at the protest in Barcelona in January. EPA
AFP contributed to this report.
