Rihannas Accused Shooter Faces Court After Arrest

The woman accused of shooting at ’s Beverly Hills mansion while she was home with her family showed up smiling at a brief court hearing on Wednesday.

Ivanna Ortiz, 35, was making her first appearance at Superior Court since pleading not guilty last month to 14 charges, including attempted murder of the pop diva.

Handcuffed and wearing a yellow prison shirt and blue pants Wednesday, blond-haired Ortiz smiled as a sheriff’s deputy led her from the cells into the downtown LA criminal court.

Prosecutors say she drove to the star’s home March 8 and opened fire on the $13.8 million estate with an AR15 assault rifle.

In addition to the attempted murder charge, Ortiz is facing 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and three of shooting at an inhabited dwelling.

She faces life in prison if convicted.

At her arraignment last month, Judge Theresa McGonigle refused to reduce Ortiz’ $1.875 bail, keeping her behind bars, after hearing from Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott that she fired some 20 rounds in the shooting .

‘This could easily have resulted in multiple homicides…of adults and children,’ said Bott who added that the shooting was premeditated with Ortiz driving to Rihanna’s home ‘with a loaded weapon, ammunition and a wig as a disguise’.

On Wednesday, the new justice assigned to the case, Judge Shannon Cooley, also denied a plea by Ortiz’ public defender, Derek Dillman, to lower the bail amount and scheduled another appearance May 13 when a date will be set for Ortiz to have a full preliminary hearing.

Judge Cooley refused to allow photos to be taken in court of Ortiz, who will remain in prison until May 13 - unless she can raise the $1.875 bail money, which is highly unlikely.

Miraculously, no one was injured when Ortiz allegedly drove her white Tesla Model 3 to the star’s swank five-bedroom home and fired multiple shots toward the building and a neighboring house.

Rihanna, 38, her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky and their children, sons RZA and Riot, three and two respectively, plus six-month old daughter Rocki were all on the property at the time, with the Rihanna and Rocky in an Airstream trailer parked next to the house.

In court documents found by Daily Mail, the five-time Grammy winner recounted her own terrifying story of what happened.

She told cops that she was in the front of her Airstream trailer in the grounds of her home while her partner, A$AP Rocky was asleep in a bed in the rear of the trailer.

'She suddenly heard approximately 10 loud sounds, like something banging on metal,’ says the police report. ‘When the noise stopped, she opened the curtains at the front of the trailer where she observed bullet holes in the windshield, directly in front of where she had been standing...

'She grabbed (Rocky) out of bed, told him they were being shot at and pushed both of them to the ground.

'They ran into the garage of the residence and went to secure their children and staff.

‘Robyn (Rihanna’s real name is Robyn Fenty) told us she had received death threats over social media in the past but most never rose to a serious level.

‘She has referred several stalkers for restraining orders and threat management through her security team over the years but no recent event came to mind that may be associated with the current incident.’

Rocky - real name Rakim Mayers - told police that ‘he was asleep in the Airstream trailer during the drama but was awakened by Rihanna telling him, “They shooting at us.”

The pop diva’s mother and two staff employees were also in the home, totaling eight of the 10 counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. The other two counts apply to two neighbors who were inside the nearby house that was also hit by gunfire.

Ortiz - who has a history of prior run-ins with the law - was arrested only about 30 minutes after the shooting when her car was tracked by police helicopter to a parking lot at Sherman Oaks Galleria some 12 miles from Beverly Hills. The Tesla was reportedly found so quickly thanks in part to how dirty it was.

A licensed speech pathologist who also calls herself a ‘Christian influencer’, Ortiz has been targeting Rihanna in a bizarre and disturbing series of insulting and angry internet posts

She bashed her on Facebook, suggesting the star had spoken negatively about her, though no connection between the two women is known.

And in a video posted in January she said, 'The way that Rihanna wants to kill me, she's the one who wants to kill me. The way that Rihanna wants to kill me shows that we're not going to show this right now, but this is my heart, Lord.

‘I am expecting and waiting in that beautiful time for you to show me what you're going to do and how you're going to deliver this promise.

'Listen, Rihanna, when you die, God is taking me to my future. You want to kill me? Shut up.

Okay, shut up. Yeah, she's a witch. She's a witch. I'm a watchman. She's a witch. Get that stupid girl out of here.'

According to one news report, Ortiz lost custody of her 10-year-old child with ex-husband Jed Nikko Valdez Sangalang, in April 2024, a year after she was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility under Florida state law, which allows for up to 72-hour voluntary or involuntary holds.

A Florida judge reportedly awarded Sangalang full physical custody of their child and Ortiz was barred from all contact with the kid, including in-person meetings, phone calls, video chats, text messages and emails.

In December last year, she filed an appeal to overturn the custody decision.