Grammy-winner Rihanna, her partner A$AP Rocky, their three children and her mother were all at home when a woman now charged with attempted murder and many other felony counts is alleged to have fired at the property, a prosecutor said on Tuesday.
Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 35, of Orlando, Florida, was charged with attempting to kill Rihanna, along with 10 counts of assault on a person with a semiautomatic firearm and three counts of shooting at an inhabited vehicle or dwelling, authorities said. No one was injured.
The singing superstar and her rap-star partner were together in a trailer on the property at the time of the Sunday afternoon shooting, while other family members and staffers were in the Beverly Hills-area home, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said outside a court hearing.
Inside court, Deputy Public Defender Jamarcus Bradford, Ortiz's attorney, at first entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf, but then withdrew it in favour of postponing arraignment until March 25. She was ordered held on USD 1.8 million bail. Bradford did not talk to reporters outside court, and an email to him seeking comment was not immediately answered.
Ortiz could get life in prison if convicted on all charges. All 14 counts against her are felonies. The three counts of firing at a dwelling were for Rihanna's house, her trailer, and a neighbour's house, prosecutors said. The 10 assault counts were for Rihanna and family, two staffers and two people in the neighbouring house.
"LA-based celebrities should not be additionally worried because of this," Hochman said, "in large part because of the response of the police". He praised officers for arresting Ortiz soon after the shooting, several kilometres to the north in the suburb of Sherman Oaks.
Judge Theresa McGonigle issued a protective order for Ortiz to stay away from Robin Fenty and Rakim Mayers - the legal names of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky - and their home. McGonigle also said Ortiz is not allowed to possess any firearms or ammunition, along with several other conditions.
Hochman would not say where any of the bullets landed, would not say how long Ortiz had been in California, or discuss her motivation or any connection to Rihanna, saying all were under investigation.
Public records show her most recent address was in Orlando and that she has been a licensed speech pathologist for more than a decade.AP