Community Corner

Accused Machete-Wielding Hit Man Heads To Retrial

Antonio Ortega's first trial in the murder-for-hire conspiracy case ended in a mistrial.

A Santa Ana man accused in a 2009 machete attack on a Fountain Valley man will go to trial a second time starting Monday morning at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

Ortega, along with Mary Sharpski and Michael Shores, both of Fountain Valley, were tried in May of 2011 for plotting to kill Frank Sharpski, known to friends and family as Rick, in March 2009. As part of the alleged conspiracy with Shores and Sharpski, Ortega is accused of attacking Rick Sharpski with a machete in an alley outside of the couple’s home and leaving him to die on the morning of March 3, 2009, fracturing his skull, severing a thumb and fingers, partly severing his nose and causing several other machete wounds.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict in the first trial despite placing Ortega at the scene of the attack, and that she helped him treat a cut on his hand and dispose of his bloody clothes by burning them in a backyard fire pit the morning of the attack.

Find out what's happening in Fountain Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Shores and Mary Sharpski will face a second trial after the conclusion of Ortega's retrial.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here