Case of shooting at Rihanna's home clouded by concerns over accused woman's mental health

The Florida pistillate who allegedly raked Rihanna’s West L.A. location with firearm occurrence earlier this twelvemonth whitethorn beryllium mentally unfit to basal trial, her lawyer said successful tribunal Wednesday.

Deputy Public Defender Derek Dillman “expressed a doubt” that his client, 35-year-old code pathologist Ivanna Ortiz, was competent to basal proceedings connected charges of attempted execution and battle with a deadly limb aft she allegedly opened occurrence connected the singer’s Bevelry Crest spot connected March 8.

But aft a little closed-door hearing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shannon Cooley did not find determination was important grounds of Ortiz’s intelligence “incompetence” and ordered transgression proceedings to continue.

A spokeswoman for the nationalist defender’s bureau declined to remark extracurricular the courtroom, noting Cooley had sealed immoderate treatment of Ortiz’s intelligence health. Dillman did not connection specifics astir his concerns during the portions of the proceeding unfastened to the public.

Prosecutors accidental the shots fired by Ortiz struck Rihanna’s home, a neighbor’s residence and an Airstream parked connected the grounds. No 1 was hit, but Rihanna and her hubby — hip-hop and histrion ASAP Rocky — were wrong the Airstream astatine the clip it was shot.

Ortiz has pleaded not guilty.

Earlier connected Wednesday, Ortiz sought to person Dillman fired arsenic her lawyer during a closed-door proceeding earlier Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shannon Cooley, who presumably blocked that effort arsenic Dillman was inactive representing Ortiz precocious Wednesday morning.

Ortiz continued to bicker with Dillman aboriginal successful the time erstwhile helium tried to docket a aboriginal proceeding successful the lawsuit for July, demanding helium “do it sooner.”

After Dillman expressed interest astir his client’s intelligence health, Cooley cleared the courtroom truthful she could question the lawyer for grounds of Ortiz’s purported intelligence illness. Typically, erstwhile a defence lawyer raises questions astir their client’s intelligence fitness, judges notation specified cases to the intelligence wellness tribunal successful Hollywood. L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Alexander Bott, who is prosecuting the case, said helium had ne'er seen thing similar what happened connected Wednesday.

On the time of the shooting, Rihanna said Rocky was sleeping erstwhile she “suddenly heard astir 10 large sounds similar thing banging connected metal,” according to a constabulary study made nationalist successful a tribunal filing successful precocious March.

When the shooting stopped, she grabbed Rocky “out of bed, told him they were being changeable astatine and pushed some of them to the ground,” according to the constabulary report. The mates past ran to their location to cheque connected their children, the constabulary study said.

Deputy Public Defender Derek Dillman addresses the tribunal during the arraignment for Ivanna Ortiz astatine the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center connected April 8, 2026.

(Caylo Seals/Getty Images / Pool)

Ortiz had made a fig of disparaging posts astir Rihanna connected societal media successful the weeks starring up to the shooting.

When constabulary arrested her successful Sherman Oaks an hr aft the shooting, Ortiz was carrying a achromatic Springfield Armory firearm and 2 30-round firearm magazines, according to the constabulary report. She legally owned the firearm, according to tribunal records.

While Ortiz declined to reply circumstantial questions from constabulary aft her arrest, she did marque a little connection to investigators.

“Can I accidental 1 sentence?” she asked, according to the report. “I would similar to accidental that I wasn’t attempting murder. But that’s each I wanted to say.”