Woman accused of trying to murder Rihanna, case paused
A judge has paused the investigation of a woman accused of attempting to kill Rihanna and more than a dozen other crimes, sending the case to a mental health court that will determine whether the woman is competent to stand trial.
At a meeting in the judge’s chambers Tuesday in Los Angeles, Deputy Public Defender Derek Dillman said he had doubts about the mental competency of his client, Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 35, of Orlando, Florida, according to court documents.
Ortiz claimed that he opened fire on Rihanna, her partner A$AP Rocky, and their children while they were at home.
Judge Shannon K Cooley ordered a psychiatric evaluation and temporarily assigned the case to a Hollywood mental health court that specializes in determining whether defendants can understand and complete trial proceedings.
“It is the ethical obligation of counsel and the court to ensure that Ms. Ortiz’s rights are protected, including by assisting counsel in rationally conducting her defense,” Dillman said in an email to The Associated Press.
If found incompetent, he could be held in a state hospital indefinitely until he faces charges. He will appear June 2 in the same courtroom where a judge recently found a man accused of stalking Jennifer Aniston to be incompetent to stand trial.
At a hearing a week ago, Cooley had refused to pause the mental health evaluation process, and Ortiz had objected, saying he wanted the case to proceed to trial.
He did not appear in court Tuesday. Cooley ordered that he remain held on bail of approximately US$2 million ($2.8 million).
Police and prosecutors allege that on March 8, Ortiz pulled up to the Beverly Hills property of singing superstar Rihanna and her rapper partner A$AP Rocky in a Tesla, pointed an AR-15-style rifle out the window and fired at least 20 bullets into the property and a neighboring home. No one was injured.
According to police interviews with the couple, gunshots struck the Airstream trailer that Rihanna and Rocky were inside. Investigators found bullet holes in the trailer and in the exterior wall of the second-floor nursery of the home where the three children were found with their nanny.
Investigators said Ortiz told them after his arrest later that day that “I wasn’t attempting murder.”
Ortiz is charged with 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, one for each of the people at the two properties. He is also accused of shooting into an occupied vehicle or dwelling three times.
