Prosecution: DNA Connects Accused Hitman to Scene of Machete Attack

The prosecution rested its case Tuesday in the attempted murder and conspiracy trial of Mary Sharpski and Michael Shores of Fountain Valley and Antonio Ortega of Santa Ana, but not before presenting the jury with DNA evidence placing Ortega at the scene of the crime.

Ortega, 25, along with Sharpski, 48, and Shores, 40, are charged with 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 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 heard about three hours of testimony from forensic scientist Jennifer Jarrett of the Orange County Crime Lab, who testified that DNA taken from blood found at the scene of the attack matched that of saliva samples taken from Ortega by police both during surveillance and after Ortega's arrest. Ortega's DNA was also found on the machete allegedly used in the attack, she said. Jarrett also testified that blood on the bottom of a shoe found in a backyard firepit during a search of Ortega's home was a DNA match for Rick Sharpski.

During cross-examination by Ortega's attorney, Derek Bercher, Jarrett testified that Rick Sharpski's DNA was not found on the machete. Bercher logged a standing objection with Superior Court Judge Richard Toohey and moved that all DNA evidence at it pertained to Sharpski be deemed inadmissible on the grounds that, he said, the chain of custody was insufficient to properly identify the samples as belonging to Sharpski because the crime lab had tested at least one swab that had been improperly labeled as a DNA buccal swab. Toohey denied Bercher's motion to have Jarrett's testimony regarding Rick Sharpski's DNA sticken from the record.

Bercher also tried to call into question the integrity of the DNA evidence in the case, questioning the potential contamination of a DNA sample taken from a blood smear on Rick Sharpski's van, DNA that was determined to be that of Sharpski. Jarrett explained that the amount of addtional DNA found in the sample was such a trace amount that it was below accepted thresholds for determining a viable sample. She also said that the second DNA could have already been present when the sample was retrieved from the scene.

During redirect, Jarrett told prosecuting attorney Lynda Fernandez that it was possible for DNA evidence to be washed off a given piece of evidence with soap and water, and that the DNA sample from Sharpski in question was marked both with Sharpski's name and with the corresponding case number from the Fountain Valley Police Department.

Bercher will begin his defense Wednesday morning, but his first intended witness has already sparked contoversy. After the jury had been excused for the day on Tuesday, Bercher defended his decision to call Todd True, a high school friend of April Bivens, Ortega's former girlfriend. Bercher said True would testify that he and Bivens had sex when the two knew each other in high school, and that Biven had later accused him of rape. No charges were ever filed, and, Bercher said, True's testimony would show Bivens' "willingness to throw a gentleman friend under the bus for the most serious of felonies."

Fernandez objected to True being called as a witness, saying that it would "create confusion and create a mini-trial within this trial." She also cited a police report that stated Bivens had accused True of sexually assaulting her, but didn't press charges because she didn't want to get him in trouble. She added that True has at least one other sexual battery claim against him. Toohey said he would rule on the matter Wednesday morning before the jury is seated.