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.
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.
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AFP contributed to this report.
