Rihanna’s alleged house shooter appears in court for first time since arrest for opening fire on mansion

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The woman charged with shooting at Rihanna’s Beverly Hills home while Rihanna was there with her family appeared in court on Wednesday and was seen smiling.

Ivanna Ortiz, age 35, appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court for the first time since entering a not-guilty plea last month to 14 counts, which include attempted murder of the famous singer.

Wearing a yellow prison shirt and blue pants, and still smiling, Ortiz—who has blond hair—was escorted from her jail cell into the downtown Los Angeles criminal court by a sheriff’s deputy on Wednesday. She was handcuffed at the time.

As a longtime fan, I was shocked to learn that on March 8th, she allegedly drove to his house and fired an AR15 assault rifle at his $13.8 million property. It’s just unbelievable.

Besides being charged with attempted murder, Ortiz is also facing ten counts of assault using a semiautomatic gun and three counts of firing at a home where people lived.

She faces life in prison if convicted.

During her court appearance last month, Judge Theresa McGonigle decided to keep Ortiz in jail, not lowering her $1.875 bail. This decision came after the prosecutor, Alexander Bott, told the court that Ortiz fired approximately 20 shots during the incident.

As a longtime follower of this case, it’s chilling to hear how close we came to a much greater tragedy. Bott explained that this wasn’t just a random act – it was planned. Apparently, Ortiz drove to Rihanna’s house with a loaded gun, plenty of ammunition, and even tried to disguise himself with a wig. It’s terrifying to think this could have easily turned into a mass shooting, harming adults and children alike.

Judge Shannon Cooley, who is overseeing the case, rejected a request from Ortiz’s lawyer, Derek Dillman, to reduce the bail. She scheduled another court date for May 13th to determine when a full preliminary hearing will take place.

I was in court today and Judge Cooley wouldn’t let anyone take pictures of Ms. Ortiz. It looks like she’s going to stay in jail until May 13th, and honestly, it’s hard to see how she’ll be able to come up with the $1,875 bail money. It doesn’t seem likely she’ll be getting out anytime soon.

Let me tell you, it’s incredibly fortunate that nobody got hurt when, according to reports, a woman named Ortiz drove up to this celebrity’s beautiful home in a white Tesla and opened fire. Apparently, she shot at both the house and the property next door. It’s a scary situation, and thankfully, everyone is safe.

Rihanna, 38, her partner A$AP Rocky, and their three children – sons RZA, age three, and Riot, age two, and six-month-old daughter Rocki – were all at the property. Rihanna and Rocky were staying in an Airstream trailer parked near the house.

According to court filings obtained by the Daily Mail, the Grammy-winning artist shared a frightening experience she had personally gone through.

She explained to police that she was at the front of her Airstream trailer on her property, while her boyfriend, A$AP Rocky, was sleeping in the back.

According to the police report, the woman heard about ten loud banging noises, as if something was hitting metal. After the noise stopped, she looked outside and saw bullet holes in the windshield of her trailer, right where she had been standing just moments before.

Oh my gosh, it was insane! She literally yanked Rocky out of bed, yelling that someone was shooting at them, and just dove with him to the floor! Can you believe it? So brave, so quick! I just keep replaying it in my head!

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

As a longtime fan, I was really saddened to hear Robyn – that’s Rihanna’s real name – talk about the death threats she’s gotten online. She mentioned she’s received them before, but thankfully, most haven’t been serious enough to escalate. It’s awful anyone would send her such hateful messages.

Over the years, her security team has helped her obtain restraining orders and manage threats from several stalkers. However, she couldn’t recall any recent incidents that might be connected to what’s happening now.

Rapper Rakim Mayers, known as Rocky, told police he was sleeping in his Airstream trailer when Rihanna woke him up, saying someone was shooting at them.

I was shocked to learn that the pop star’s mother and two of her staff were also inside the house during the shooting – that makes eight of the ten assault charges with the semi-automatic weapon. The other two charges are for the neighbors who were in a nearby house that was also caught in the gunfire. It’s just awful to think about everyone involved.

Police arrested Ortiz, who had previous legal issues, about 30 minutes after the shooting. They located her car – a dirty Tesla – using a police helicopter, tracking it to a parking lot at the Sherman Oaks Galleria, which is approximately 12 miles from Beverly Hills. The vehicle was found quickly, in part because of the amount of dirt on it.

Ortiz, a speech pathologist and self-described Christian influencer, has been posting strange and upsetting insults aimed at Rihanna online.

She publicly criticized the celebrity on Facebook, claiming the star had said bad things about her, even though the two women don’t appear to know each other.

In a video from January, she stated that Rihanna seems intent on harming her, saying, ‘The way Rihanna wants to kill me… it’s clear she’s after me.’ She added that they won’t be showing the details at this time, but expressed her distress by saying, ‘This is how I truly feel, God.’

I’m eagerly anticipating the moment you fulfill your promise and show me what you’ll do. I’m waiting to see how you’ll make it happen.

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

Stop talking. Yes, she is a witch. I am the guard here. Get that girl away from here.

In April 2024, Ortiz lost custody of her 10-year-old child with her former husband, Jed Nikko Valdez Sangalang. This happened about a year after she was held at a psychiatric facility in Florida, under a law that allows for up to 72-hour evaluations, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

A Florida judge granted Sangalang complete physical custody of their child and prohibited Ortiz from having any contact with them, whether in person, by phone, through video calls, or via text or email.

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

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2026-04-09 05:49