Woman pleads not guilty to attempted murder of singer Rihanna

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 shots from a semiautomatic weapon at the Grammy-winning musician's Los Angeles mansion this month.

The woman, Ivana Lisette Ortiz, entered her plea in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Ortiz, from Orlando, Florida, was charged with one count of attempted murder, 10 felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and three felony counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling.

Her bail was set at $1.875 million. Ortiz, 35, 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 on a Sunday afternoon and firing approximately 20 gunshots. Rihanna, her partner A$AP Rocky and their three young children were inside a trailer on the property 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.