By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES, March 25 (Reuters) – A Florida woman pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to the attempted murder of singer Rihanna after authorities said she fired gunshots at the Grammy-winning musician’s Los Angeles mansion this month.
The woman, Ivana Lisette Ortiz, appeared briefly in Los Angeles Superior Court wearing yellow prison attire. Her attorney entered a plea of not guilty to the 14 charges she faces, which include one count of attempted murder and 10 felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
Judge Theresa McGonigle rejected a request to reduce Ortiz’s bail, which is set at $1.875 million. The judge also said Ortiz, 35, cannot work as a licensed speech therapist in California while the case is pending.
Ortiz, who is from Orlando, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors accused Ortiz of driving up to the front of Rihanna’s home in the Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles on a Sunday afternoon and firing approximately 20 gunshots. Rihanna, her partner A$AP Rocky and their three young children were home at the time, according to prosecutors. No one was struck by gunfire.
“This is the kind of conduct that easily could have resulted in numerous homicides,” Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott told the court.
Ortiz fled the scene but was arrested a short time later in Los Angeles. Bott said she was found in a car with a rifle and a wig for a disguise.
Rihanna, singer of “We Found Love” and “Umbrella,” has won nine Grammy Awards.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine, Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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