A Florida woman accused of opening fire on Rihanna’s Beverly Hills mansion while the singer and her family were inside has been formally charged. If convicted, she could face life in prison.
Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 36, has been charged with attempted murder, 10 counts of assault with an assault weapon and three counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling or occupied camper.
The Orlando native has pleaded not guilty. Her bail has been set at $2.65 million, and her next court hearing is scheduled for October 29.
If convicted, Ortiz could be sentenced to life in prison.
According to prosecutors, Ortiz drove to Rihanna’s home in Southern California on the afternoon of March 8 and fired multiple shots at the property using an assault-style weapon.
At the time, 38-year-old Rihanna was at the estate with her partner, 37-year-old rapper A$AP Rocky, their three children — four-year-old RZA Athelston, three-year-old Riot Rose and one-year-old daughter Rocki Irish — as well as several other people.
No one inside the property was injured. According to prosecutor Hochman, a tragedy was avoided largely by sheer luck.
“It is pure luck, not restraint, that no one was killed or injured,” the prosecutor said.
Ortiz was later arrested in Sherman Oaks, California.
During an April court hearing, prosecutor Alexander Bott said the woman had arrived at the singer’s home carrying a loaded firearm, ammunition and a wig that was allegedly intended to disguise her appearance.
“What happened could very easily have ended in multiple murders, of both adults and children,” Bott said.
Rihanna previously told authorities in legal documents obtained by the Daily Mail that she had received multiple death threats on social media in the past. However, she said that most of them had not appeared to pose a serious threat.
The singer also said that over the years, she had repeatedly sought restraining orders and assistance from law enforcement through her security team to address threats from several individuals who had allegedly stalked her. However, Rihanna could not recall any recent incident that might have been connected to the shooting at her home.
Numerous bullet holes were discovered across the property following the attack. According to the publication, the damage included the exterior gates, a fence, the courtyard, a wall near the children’s room and the windshield of an Airstream trailer.
Court documents state that Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were inside the trailer during the shooting, while their children were in the nursery.
On Tuesday, after four months of evaluations, Ortiz was found mentally competent to stand trial, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Ortiz was previously arrested in 2023 on suspicion of domestic violence and battery. Two years earlier, she had been arrested on suspicion of reckless driving. She was also involved in bankruptcy proceedings in 2013.
The Daily Mail noted that Ortiz had repeatedly mentioned Rihanna in her social media posts. In one post published in February, she directly addressed the singer, writing: “Say something to me directly instead of hiding behind my back.”
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