| For Immediate Release Case # 09WF0727 October 19, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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MAN FACES TRIAL FOR MACHETE ATTACK IN CONSPIRACY TO MURDER CO-DEFENDANT’S HUSBAND
SANTA ANA – A man faces trial Monday for conspiracy to commit murder and attacking his co-defendant’s husband with a machete. Antonio Cinco Ortega, 26, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count of attempted murder, one felony count of conspiracy to commit murder, one felony count of mayhem, and sentencing enhancements for great bodily injury and the personal use of a deadly weapon. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison. Opening statements are expected to begin Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-30, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
Ortega’s friend, Michael Calvin Shores II, 41, Fountain Valley, and Shores’ lover Mary Katheryn Sharpski, 49, Fountain Valley, are both charged with one felony count of attempted murder, one felony count of conspiracy to commit murder, one felony count of mayhem, and a sentencing enhancement for great bodily injury. If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of life in state prison. They are scheduled for a pre-trial trial setting conference Oct. 19, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-30.
This is a re-trial of the case against Ortega, as a previous jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict regarding the three defendants in a 2011 trial.
At the time of the crime, Frank and Mary Sharpski were married with three children. Mary Sharpski is accused of having an affair with Shores, a tenant in her family’s home for approximately one year. Mary Sharpski is accused of planning to murder her husband in order to live with Shores and her three children as a family.
Mary Sharpski and Shores are accused of meeting and conspiring with Ortega, a good friend of Shores. Mary Sharpski is accused of agreeing to pay Ortega to murder her husband and providing him with information on the victim’s daily route.
In the early morning of March 3, 2009, Ortega is accused of attacking Frank Sharpski in an alley outside of the victim’s home with a machete. Ortega is accused of fracturing the victim’s skull, severing a thumb and fingers, partly severing his nose, causing several machete wounds, and leaving him to die.
When Fountain Valley Police Department officers responded at 5:50 a.m. to the scene, they found Frank Sharpski on the ground near the carports bleeding severely and semi-conscious. He was transported to a hospital, where he narrowly survived after undergoing several surgeries.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Lynda Fernandez is prosecuting this case.
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