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.
Four thousand lucky dogs prepare for permanent homes — in pictures
AFP contributed to this report.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The biog
Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Favourite holiday destination: Spain
Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa
Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Profile
Company name: Marefa Digital
Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
Number of employees: seven
Sector: e-learning
Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019
Investors: Friends and family
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20profile
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