Woman accused of firing bullets at Rihanna’s mansion is deemed mentally fit to stand trial
-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
- A judge ruled that Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, accused of firing multiple rounds at Rihanna’s Beverly Hills home, is mentally competent to stand trial after an evaluation delayed the case for more than four months.
- Rihanna, ASAP Rocky and their three children were home during the March 8 shooting, which damaged parts of the property; Ortiz faces 14 felony counts, including attempted murder.
The case against the woman who authorities allege fired multiple bullets at pop singer Rihanna’s Beverly Hills mansion can move forward, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 36, of Florida was deemed mentally competent by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Maria Cavalluzzi, meaning the criminal case can proceed after a competency evaluation delayed it for more than four months.
Case documents with Ortiz’s psychiatric evaluations were marked as confidential and sealed.
Officials allege that she put “numerous lives at risk” on March 8 when she drove a white Tesla to Rihanna’s neighborhood and fired about 20 rounds from an assault-style rifle. Rihanna, her partner ASAP Rocky and their three young children were home at the time.
Police discovered bullet holes or impacts on the exterior of the gate of Rihanna’s residence, a fence, the front windshield of an Airstream trailer, a patio area and on the exterior wall of a nursery room, according to a police document reviewed by City News Service.
At the time of the shooting, Rihanna and Rocky were inside the trailer, and their children were inside the nursery room, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
Ortiz is facing 14 felony counts, including one count of attempted murder, 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and three counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling, vehicle or other target, court records show.
Ortiz had several prior arrests in her home state, The Times has reported. She was involved in a bankruptcy case in 2013, arrested on suspicion of careless driving in 2021, and arrested in 2023 on suspicion of domestic violence and battery.
Though she had no known affiliation with Rihanna, Ortiz often posted on social media about celebrities. In February, she shared a meme alleging Rihanna had AIDS and tagged Rihanna in a post on Facebook telling her to “say something to me directly instead of sneaking around.”
Another hearing is set for Wednesday morning at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, court records show.
City News Service contributed to this report.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
William Mulholland was the water boss who made L.A. possible. His reputation gave him unchecked authority as a dam builder. In 1928, that led to one of America’s deadliest disasters--and the question of whether it was a crime.
It started as a ploy to scare Texas out of redrawing its congressional map and ended with California voters approving a new map of their own, one that could hat could help alter the balance of power in Washington.
On this week’s episode of Boiling Point, Miranda Green speaks with Los Angeles Times climate reporter Hayley Smith about how AI bots are meddling in California’s clean energy policymaking.
