Los Angeles [US], October 2 (ANI): A Florida woman accused of driving across the country and opening fire at the Beverly Hills-area home of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky has been indicted by a grand jury on 14 felony counts, including attempted murder, according to court records, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 36, of Orlando, is accused of firing a rifle toward the property on March 8, with bullets striking an Airstream trailer where Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were present and the exterior wall of a second-floor nursery where their three children were with their nanny.
The indictment against Ortiz was unsealed on Wednesday. Appearing in court in yellow jail clothes, Ortiz spoke only to her attorney, who entered a not guilty plea on her behalf. The judge ordered her held on USD 2.6 million bail, as per the outlet.
“This is a person who wanted to kill Rihanna,” Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said outside court. “Everyone else was collateral damage,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The development came a day after another judge ruled that Ortiz was mentally competent to stand trial. The case had been paused for months while Ortiz underwent psychiatric evaluations. The reports from those evaluations remain sealed, and details about her mental state were not discussed publicly.
The grand jury indictment supersedes the original charges filed against Ortiz in March, when she was also accused of attempted murder and more than a dozen other felonies. She had pleaded not guilty to those charges, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The indictment additionally charges Ortiz with 10 counts of assault with an assault weapon and three counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling or camper. If convicted on all counts, she could face life in prison.
According to authorities, Ortiz drove a Tesla from Orlando to the Beverly Hills-area property of Rihanna and her rapper partner A$AP Rocky. Investigators allege that she pointed an AR-15-style rifle out of the vehicle and fired at least 20 rounds toward the property and a neighbouring house.
Investigators found bullet holes in the Airstream trailer and on the exterior wall of the home’s second-floor nursery, where the couple’s children and their nanny were present. Rihanna’s mother and several staff members were also inside the home.
No one was injured in the shooting.
After her arrest later that day, Ortiz allegedly told investigators, “I wasn’t attempting murder.”
The grand jury indictment supersedes the original charges. And the secret proceedings allow prosecutors to skip California’s preliminary hearing process, where evidence must be presented publicly to see if a trial is merited, as per the outlet.
Prosecutors have not publicly disclosed a motive or cited any known connection between Rihanna and Ortiz. Ortiz, a longtime licensed speech pathologist, has no prior criminal record.
Rihanna, a nine-time Grammy Award winner, has recorded 14 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “We Found Love,” “Work,” “Umbrella” and “Disturbia,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. (ANI)
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