Defense attorney Derek Dillman is ensuring Ortiz's constitutional rights are protected, arguing the court must verify she can 'assist counsel in conducting a defense in a rational manner.' The pause isn't about avoiding accountability—it's about Due Process.
Sources close to Rihanna say she's been rattled since March 8 and has barely left her Beverly Hills compound. While Ortiz presents as a licensed speech pathologist with no priors, insiders note the sophistication of the attack—scoping out the home, renting a Tesla, using an AR-15-style weapon—suggests premeditation that clashes with incompetence claims.
On March 8, 2026, Ortiz allegedly fired 20 rounds from an AR-15-like rifle at Rihanna's LA residence while the singer, A$AP Rocky, and their three children were inside. Judge Shannon K. Cooley ordered a competency evaluation on May 19 after Dillman expressed doubts about his client's mental competence; Ortiz remains held on $2 million bail.
This case just got messier—and more terrifying. If Ortiz is found incompetent, she could languish in a state hospital indefinitely rather than face justice for allegedly putting bullets through a nursery wall while three children slept inside.
The attempted murder case against Rihanna took a bombshell turn Tuesday when a judge halted proceedings to determine whether the accused can even comprehend what's happening to her. Ivanna Ortiz, 35, will undergo psychiatric evaluation after her own defense attorney raised red flags about her mental competence—raising chilling questions about what led a licensed speech pathologist with zero prior criminal record to allegedly fire 20 rounds at one of the most famous women in the world.
U.S. District Judge Shannon K. Cooley ordered Ortiz's case transferred to Hollywood mental health court on May 19, a week after she initially rejected a defense request for evaluation and insisted the trial move forward.
Deputy Public Defender Derek Dillman told the Associated Press his doubts about Ortiz's competence aren't about dodging accountability—they're about protecting her rights. 'It is the ethical obligation of counsel and the court to ensure that Ms. Ortiz's rights are protected, including being able to assist counsel in conducting a defense in a rational manner,' Dillman said.
Prosecutors declined comment on the decision. The alleged attack occurred March 8 when investigators say Ortiz rolled up to Rihanna's Beverly Hills home in a rented Tesla and unloaded an AR-15-like rifle at the residence while Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, and their three children were inside. According to police interviews obtained by Rolling Stone, Rihanna was in an Airstream trailer on the property when she heard 'approximately ten loud sounds like something banging on metal.' When she peeked through the curtains, she saw bullet holes in the windshield directly where she'd been standing moments before.
She grabbed Rocky from bed, screamed 'they shooting at us,' and forced both of them to the ground before they fled into the main house to secure their children and staff. The terrifying part: investigators found bullet holes not just in the Airstream but on the exterior wall of the second-floor nursery where Rihanna and Rocky's three kids were with their nanny. No one was injured only by sheer luck—or grace.
After the shooting, Ortiz fled the scene but didn't get far; a police helicopter spotted her vehicle within hours and she was arrested that same day. Investigators later documented six bullet holes in the property's main gate, a seventh in a pedestrian gate, and three more in a wooden fence shrouded by tall bushes—evidence of a sustained assault rather than a drive-by. Here's what makes this case especially disturbing: Ortiz has no prior criminal history and holds a professional license as a speech pathologist.
After her arrest, she allegedly told investigators 'I wasn't attempting murder'—a claim that defies the physical evidence of 20 rounds fired at an occupied dwelling with children inside. She faces 10 counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm (one for each person on both properties) plus three charges of shooting at an occupied vehicle or dwelling, and has pleaded not guilty to all counts. If found incompetent, she could be institutionalized indefinitely in a state hospital until—or unless—doctors determine she's stable enough to stand trial.
Rihanna has remained publicly silent since the incident, declining comment through representatives. But sources say she's been deeply shaken, rarely leaving her compound as this case grinds toward what promises to be an extraordinarily complicated resolution.
