Judge denies competency hearing for woman accused of shooting at Rihanna's home
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- A judge on Wednesday refused to send the case of a Florida woman who allegedly opened fire on singer Rihanna's Beverly Crest-area home -- along with another nearby home -- to mental competency proceedings, despite a request from the woman's attorney.
Following a closed-door hearing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shannon K. Cooley said she found that there was "not substantial evidence of incompetence" of Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 35, who is charged with attempted murder and multiple firearms-related offenses.
The judge's decision came after Deputy Public Defender Derek Dillman said he would be "expressing a doubt" about his client's mental competence.
After further consultation with attorneys regarding scheduling, Cooley scheduled another court date in the case for May 19, when a date will be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for Ortiz to stand trial.
Ortiz is charged with one count of attempted murder involving Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Fenty, along with 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, two counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and one count of shooting at an inhabited vehicle, as well as allegations that she personally and intentionally discharged a rifle, involving the alleged crimes March 8, according to the criminal complaint.
During a March 25 hearing, Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said Ortiz fired about 20 rounds from an assault-style rifle and aimed the gunfire at an area where adults and children were present, "putting numerous lives at risk." He called her alleged conduct "extremely dangerous," and said Ortiz was subsequently found in a vehicle with a rifle, ammunition and a disguise -- a wig.
SEE ALSO: Woman accused of opening fire at Rihanna's home in Beverly Crest pleads not guilty
A Los Angeles Police Department document, which was attached to the request from the California Attorney General's Office to bar Ortiz from practicing speech-language pathology, alleges that Ortiz drove a white Tesla Model 3 to the neighborhood and fired at least 20 rounds at the occupied residences. The document indicates that police discovered bullet holes or impacts on the exterior of the gate of Rihanna's residence, a wooden fence, the front windshield of an Airstream trailer, a patio area and on the exterior wall of a "nursery room," and also observed bullet impacts to a neighboring residence.
Rihanna told police she was in the Airstream trailer with her partner -- rapper A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, who was sleeping. She said she heard approximately 10 loud sounds like something banging on metal, according to the LAPD's crime summary. She told police she opened the curtains after the noise stopped, and noticed bullet holes in the windshield directly in front of where she was standing, grabbed Mayers out of bed, told him they were being shot at and pushed both of them to the ground before they ran into the garage of their residence and went to "secure" their children and staff, according to the document.
Police said the singer told them she had received death threats over social media in the past, but most had never risen to a serious level, according to the crime summary.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters in March that the Orlando, Florida, woman is accused of driving up to Rihanna's home just west of Beverly Hills at about 1:20 p.m. March 8 and firing multiple times from her semi-automatic weapon at the residence.
"Rihanna was there with her partner, her three children, her mother and two staff people, representing eight of the 10 of the counts of dealing with an assault with a semi-automatic firearm," Hochman said then, noting there are two dwellings at Rihanna's residence, including the Airstream trailer containing Rihanna and Mayers.
"In addition, Miss Ortiz is accused of firing at a neighboring residence that had two additional individuals," the district attorney said.
He noted then that Ortiz's alleged motivation was still under investigation.
"Law enforcement will be looking at any videos on social media, at any additional evidence that they can uncover to both understand her motivation and why she did these particular acts," Hochman said. "Law enforcement is in the process of gathering all evidence of motivation, any connections between the defendant and Rihanna if any so exist or why this particular defendant decided to open up and shoot her with a semi-automatic rifle on the afternoon of March 8th."
The district attorney said the woman then traveled through Beverly Hills and eventually ended up in Sherman Oaks, and was arrested "within hours." He lauded the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills police departments for their prompt actions leading to Ortiz's arrest.
She remains jailed in lieu of $1.875 million bail.
Ortiz was ordered March 10 not to have any contact with Rihanna or Mayers.
She was subsequently also directed not to practice as a speech-language pathologist in California, where she has been licensed since 2016, while the criminal case is pending.
If convicted, she could face up to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the district attorney said.
According to the LAPD, officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon/shots fired report and met the person who made the call. After obtaining suspect information, the suspect was located, taken into custody and a weapon was recovered, police said.
LAPD Capt. Mike Bland told reporters that the weapon was an AR-15-style rifle.
Ortiz was arrested in the parking lot of the Sherman Oaks Galleria about 30 minutes after the gunfire was reported, police said.
There were no reports of injuries.
Ortiz had once been involuntarily committed and lost custody of her then 10-year-old child, TMZ reported.
On what is believed to be Ortiz's Facebook page, there were multiple videos and posts making reference to celebrities including Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Cardi B.
One post from last February tags Rihanna, and says Ortiz was waiting for the singer "to say something to me directly instead of sneaking around like you talking to me where I'm not at."
She referenced the singer again in a December post that states, "I'm already threw (sic) with Rihanna, Your turn hiding (expletive), Stop begging for a look."
In another video, she says Rihanna wants to kill her.
