Ivanna Ortiz, 36, pleaded not guilty to all 14 counts, with ten assault charges upgraded after an expert examined the weapon recovered in the case.
Ivanna Ortiz, the Florida woman accused of opening fire on Rihanna's Los Angeles home in March, has been indicted on attempted murder and pleaded not guilty to all 14 counts.
The indictment was unsealed on Wednesday, a day after a judge found Ortiz mentally fit to stand trial. It keeps the attempted murder charge and three felony counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling, and upgrades ten assault charges to reflect an assault weapon, after an expert examined the weapon recovered in the case.
Prosecutors say Ortiz, 36, drove up to the home around 1:20 pm on March 8 and fired more than 20 rounds from an AR-15-style rifle out of the window of a white Tesla. Rihanna was inside an Airstream trailer parked in the driveway with her partner A$AP Rocky when the shots rang out, while her mother Monica Fenty, the couple's three children and staff were inside the house. No one was injured.
"This is a person who wanted to kill Rihanna, and everyone else was collateral damage," Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said after the hearing.
District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement: "Shooting at an occupied home is a serious, violent crime that is both reckless and dangerous. It is pure luck and not a matter of restraint that no one was killed or injured."
A witness list attached to the indictment shows Rihanna testified before the grand jury while it was still secret, alongside her mother. The indictment was returned on June 18 and stayed sealed for more than three months while Ortiz underwent a mental-health evaluation. Judge Maria Cavalluzzi reinstated criminal proceedings on Tuesday.
Ortiz is held on $2.65 million bail and returns to court on October 29 for a pretrial hearing. She faces up to life in state prison if convicted.
No comments yet