The woman accused of opening fire on Rihanna’s Beverly Hills mansion with a high-powered rifle was ruled competent to stand trial on attempted murder charges during a bizarre court appearance in Los Angeles Wednesday.
A lawyer for Ivanna Ortiz, 35, had requested earlier in the day that she undergo an additional mental-health check before a judge made the ruling that the trial could proceed.
Ortiz, who pleaded not guilty on March 25 to attempted murder and a slew of other felony charges, was seen Wednesday in shackles and carrying a plastic bag filled with snacks during a hearing at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
Ortiz’s public defender had requested “an additional inquiry of competence” for his client, who sported dyed-blonde hair and an orange jumpsuit during the appearance.
The request came after Ortiz entered a complaint about her lawyer before Judge Shannon K. Cooley.
AP
At Ortiz’s appearance last month, prosecutor Alexander Bott slammed her for the March 8 attack, saying the shooting “could have caused multiple homicides” and was “calculated and deliberate.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman revealed that both Rihanna and her husband A$AP Rocky were inside an Airstream trailer on the property at the time that was struck by the gunfire.
He said that Ortiz was found with ammunition, a disguise and was caught on camera, adding that she planned the attack and fired 20 rounds toward the home with children present using a “high-powered rifle.“
The couple’s three young kids, Rihanna’s mother and two staffers were inside the main house at the time, according to Hochman. Bullets also struck a neighbor’s home, where two people were inside.
The shooting rattled the normally quiet celebrity enclave, an exclusive neighborhood packed with multimillion-dollar estates and tight private security. Rihanna and her family fled the mansion and got on a private jet leaving LA in the aftermath.
Ortiz, who allegedly drove from Florida in her white Tesla to carry out the attack, posted a string of unhinged videos that appeared to offer a bizarre motive for the shooting.
She claimed the pop megastar was “stealing” from her, was “jealous” of her and was a “witch” with a “devil’s face” in a series of clips on her YouTube channel.
Her rambling social media posts depicted an obsessed stalker who held a vicious grudge against the singer for a raft of strange reasons.
In one she says: “Got Rihanna over there all jealous … because how am I … how am I … because her face is the devil. Rihanna’s face is the devil.
Ortiz was arrested near a shopping mall in nearby Sherman Oaks shortly after the midday shooting. Investigators later recovered an assault-style rifle from a vehicle linked to the suspect, officials said.
Ortiz’s charges include attempted murder with special allegations, 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm with special allegations, and three counts of shooting into an inhabited dwelling/vehicle.
Her bond was previously set at $10.2 million before being reduced to $1.875 million, and a protective order was put in place for both Rihanna and A$AP Rocky.
Ortiz could face life in prison for her crimes, Hochman said.