Man charged with attempted murder, conspiracy

A man charged with an attempted murder of a resident outside a Fountain Valley home went to trial Monday, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Antonio Cinco Ortega, 26, of 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. He faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison if convicted.

Ortega is one of three defendants in the case along with Michael Calvin Shores II, 41, of Fountain Valley, and Mary Katheryn Sharpski, 49, of Fountain Valley.

According to the release, Sharpski and her husband, Frank, were married with three children while Mary Sharpski allegedly had an affair with Shores, who was a tenant in her family’s home. Mary Sharpski is accused of plotting to have her husband killed so she could live with Shores.

She and Shores are accused of conspiring with Ortega, whom the district attorney’s office described as a friend of Shores. She allegedly agreed to pay Ortega to murder her husband, according to the release.

Ortega is accused of attacking Frank Sharpski with a machete in an alley outside his home early on the morning of March 3, 2009. He 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, according to the release.

The victim survived his injuries, and a previous jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict for the three defendants in 2011.

Shores and Sharpski 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. They also face a maximum of life in prison if convicted.

michael.miller@latimes.com

Twitter: @MichaelMillerHB