LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman from Florida pleaded not guilty Wednesday to attempted murder of Rihanna, and a newly public police report revealed that the shots she is alleged to have fired from an AR-15 style rifle hit an Airstream trailer while the singing superstar and her partner A$AP Rocky were inside.
Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, of Orlando, who had no prior police record, also pleaded not guilty through her attorney to more than a dozen other felony counts
in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Hours after her arrest on March 8, Ortiz told detectives she would not answer questions without a lawyer, but spoke up once, according to the Los Angeles police report made public in a court filing Tuesday.
“Can I say one sentence?” she said. “I would like to say that I wasn't attempting murder. But that's all I wanted to say.”
Police and prosecutors said that Ortiz, 35, pulled up in a white Tesla to the home Rihanna and Rocky share with their three young children in the Beverly Hills area, pointed the rifle out the window and sprayed at least 20 bullets toward the property and a neighboring home. No one was injured.
Rihanna told detectives in an interview that Rocky was sleeping in the rear of the trailer that was parked in the driveway next to the home's garage and she was sitting at a window seat when she heard about 10 loud sounds like something banging on metal. She pulled back a curtain and saw bullet holes in the Airstream's front window, according to the report. She pulled him out of bed and both of them got on the floor before running into the main house to check on the people inside, which included the kids, her mother, and staffers.
Rocky, identified in the report as “a famous rapper,” told police that Rihanna shouted that someone was shooting at them as she woke him.
Two bullets hit the double-paned window of the Airstream, but did not go through it, the police report said. A third appeared to have hit the trailer's side.
A bullet hole was found on the exterior wall of the home's second-floor nursery where the three kids were with their nanny. The nanny told police that she heard the shots but hadn't believed they were gunfire initially.
Three bullet fragments were found in the home's front porch area while at least 10 bullet holes were identified in the property's gates and walls. Shots also hit a neighboring home.
Ortiz is charged with 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, one for each of the people on the two properties. She's also charged with three counts of shooting at an occupied vehicle or dwelling for the trailer and the two neighboring homes. She could get life in prison if convicted on all charges.
Ortiz appeared behind glass Wednesday in a custody area, wearing yellow jail clothes with her blond hair in braids. She spoke only to agree to waive her right to a speedy preliminary hearing, the next phase of the case where evidence is presented to determine whether a trial is warranted.
Her lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Derek Dillman, asked that her bail be reduced from $1.9 million to $70,000 based on her ability to pay. Judge Theresa McGonigle declined the request.
The prosecutor said she's a major risk to the community and would likely flee if she made bail.
“This case involves a dangerous, deliberate shooting into occupied homes,” Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said. “This is the kind of conduct that could easily have resulted in multiple homicides.”
When Ortiz was arrested hours after the shooting, she was alone in her car with the rifle, more rounds and a wig she was using as a disguise, Bott said.
Public records show Ortiz has been a licensed speech pathologist for more than a decade. McGonigle ruled that she should be prevented from practicing in California. The move came at the request of the state attorney general, whose motion included the police report, making it public.
Neither side spoke to reporters outside the courthouse.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman has declined to discuss a motive or describe any connection between Ortiz and Rihanna, saying all were under investigation. He also said his office was investigating social media posts from Ortiz from the days leading up to the gunfire.
A nine-time Grammy Award winner, Rihanna has 14 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “We Found Love,” “Work,” “Umbrella” and “Disturbia.” She founded the makeup brand Fenty Beauty in 2017.
She and A$AP Rocky announced the birth of their third child, a girl named Rocki Irish Mayers, in September. They also have sons ages 2 and 3.
