Woman charged with attempted murder after weekend shooting at Rihanna's L.A. home
CBC
A Florida woman accused of firing gunshots at Rihanna's home in Los Angeles was charged Tuesday with one count of attempted murder and other felony offences, including 10 counts of assault on a person with a semi-automatic firearm.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that the singer, her partner A$AP Rocky, their three small children and her mother were all on the property at the time.
The district attorney's office said Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 35, was charged in the shooting Sunday afternoon outside the superstar's gated home in the Beverly Hills area. No one was hurt.
Court records show Ortiz also was charged with 10 counts of assault on a person with a semi-automatic firearm and three counts of shooting at an inhabited vehicle or dwelling. All 14 counts are felonies. She appeared before Judge Theresa McGonigle Tuesday afternoon in Superior Court of Los Angeles County.
Deputy public defender Jamarcus Bradford, Ortiz's attorney, at first entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf, but then withdrew it in favour of postponing arraignment until March 25. She was ordered held on $1.8 million US bail. Ortiz wore blue jail clothes with her blond hair in braids and spoke to her lawyer through a glass divider.
The judge issued a protective order for Ortiz to stay away from Robin Fenty and Rakim Mayers — the legal names of Rihanna and her partner A$AP Rocky, respectively — and their home. McGonigle also said Ortiz is not allowed to possess any firearms or ammunition, along with several other conditions.
Earlier Tuesday, Los Angeles police Chief Jim McDonnell told media gathered for a news conference on a different subject that 10 people were at Rihanna's home when shots were fired. He said investigators believe Ortiz drove to the area from Florida, but it's not clear when.
Public records show her most recent address was in Orlando and that she has been a licensed speech pathologist for more than a decade.
Ortiz was arrested Sunday afternoon after the shooting, and a weapon was recovered, police said. They have not said whether she has any known connection to Rihanna.
Voicemails and other messages left by The Associated Press, including an email sent to the public defender's office, were not immediately answered Tuesday.
AP also sent emails seeking comment from Rihanna's publicist and manager.
KABC-TV broadcast video that appeared to show five bullet holes in the home's front gate. The news station obtained police dispatch audio that says 10 shots were fired.
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 2025.
