The man charged for shooting Lady Gaga's dog walker last year just got a stiff punishment for the crime ... landing behind bars for decades.
James Howard Jackson was sentenced Monday to 21 years in prison in Los Angeles County -- this after accepting a plea deal from the District Attorney's Office. Jackson was one of five men hauled in by police and accused of carrying out the violent act in 2021.
A rep for the L.A. County D.A.'s office tells us Jackson pled no contest to a count of attempted murder and admitted the allegation of inflicting great bodily injury to a prior strike.
Prosecutors alleged Jackson was the one who actually fired the shot at Ryan Fischer that night in an attempt to steal Gaga's two French bulldogs.
Video obtained by TMZ showed the wild altercation -- the group literally rolled up and hopped out to attack Ryan, shooting him in the process.
Jackson was facing the most serious charges, attempted murder and 2 extra firearm counts, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and a felon carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle.
Lady Gaga's Alleged Dognappers Charged with Attempted Murder, Robbery
You'll recall ... he was actually temporarily released by mistake earlier this year after a clerical error by the Sheriff's Dept. Fischer told us at the time he was freaked out, and was calling on police to apprehend him swiftly.
In the end, they did ... and now, he's going away for a long time. It's unclear where things stand with the other four men connected to the case ... two others were also charged with attempted murder, while the final 2 were slapped with accessory charges, among others.
The two pooches were returned to their rightful owner -- and Ryan has thankfully recovered.