8 a.m. on August 15 when Mike Wisdom found an unhinged man inside his North Plymouth home A vicious assault and struggle took place.

Imagine being jolted awake by someone screaming. At first you think it’s your roommate. Then you realize the voice is a stranger’s.

Plymouth independent reported At approximately 8 a.m. on August 15, Mike Wisdom encountered an unhinged individual within his North Plymouth residence.

A brutal assault ensued, resulting in a fierce struggle. After several minutes, Wisdom managed to escape and, bloodied, sprinted to the fire station located across the street.

Although the alleged perpetrator, Jose Juarez, was ultimately apprehended, he is currently at liberty, residing in Plymouth — despite the fact that as of this week, both the police and the district attorney’s office appeared unaware of his location.

When contacted by phone, Juarez claimed he could not recall the events — only that he had been awake for three consecutive days and was wandering the streets, hearing voices.

This is how Wisdom’s morning transpired on that day:

Once he regained his composure, he realized the intruder was alarmingly close, positioned in the hallway just outside his second-floor bedroom.

The man was yelling, “Come out. I know you’re in there,” Wisdom recounted.

The 37-year-old chef – who has been employed at several of Plymouth’s premier restaurants and recently acquired The Edge pizza shop on Main Street – stepped out of his room and attempted to reason with the intruder.

“I don’t know you,” Wisdom stated. “I believe you are in the wrong house.”

However, Juarez advanced towards him, exclaiming, “Jesus wants to talk to you,” according to Wisdom.

Juarez then forcefully slammed Wisdom against a wall and attempted to tackle him, as he described. During their altercation, he allegedly seized an end table from the bedroom and struck Wisdom in the back with it.

Wisdom retrieved a hammer that he had previously used to hang a painting but had neglected to put away.

“I struck him with it two or three times,” he recounted.

Yet, Juarez continued to lunge at him. He persisted in swinging and attempting to tackle him, Wisdom stated.

Wisdom managed to push him to the ground five or six times, hitting him with the hammer “but he would just spring back up like a zombie,” he told the Plymouth Independent.

Despite weighing 225 pounds, Wisdom is significantly heavier than his 135-pound assailant, yet Juarez refused to relent, Wisdom remarked.

When

Wisdom theorized that the man entered the house when his roommate left for work in the morning and didn’t lock the front door. Why he chose Wisdom’s home remains a mystery.

Juarez, 38, was brought to Plymouth District Court on August 18 where he faced eight criminal charges, including breaking and entering, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery on a police officer.

The clerk released him on personal recognizance to be brought to BID-Plymouth for what is known as a Section 12 psychiatric evaluation.

Without further action, a patient or defendant can be held in a hospital for no more than 72 hours for such observation. It is unclear when Juarez was discharged or why the hospital or police didn’t arrange for him to be brought to court as he was leaving. A hospital spokeswoman said she couldn’t comment because of privacy laws.

Juarez was supposed to return to court for his arraignment on August 22, but he didn’t show up, according to court records. A warrant was issued for his arrest.

Since the incident, Wisdom said, he repeatedly contacted the police and the office of Plymouth County district attorney Timothy Cruz, trying to find out where Juarez was. He did not get an answer.

Plymouth police chief Dana Flynn told the Independent that after Juarez was released from police custody, he was sent by ambulance to BID-Plymouth.

“I have no further information on his whereabouts at this time,” he said in an email on Wednesday.

Juarez said he’s been home since being discharged from the hospital earlier this week.

He said he doesn’t remember anything that happened before waking up in South Shore Hospital, where he underwent surgery for head injuries caused by the hammer blows. (It’s unclear whether he was operated on before or after his stay at BID-Plymouth.)

The Guatamala native said he didn’t know he was supposed to appear in court because his phone was taken from him when he was in the hospital.

Juarez said he had been suffering from severe insomnia, unable to sleep for 72 hours. Also, he didn’t have his medication, he said, though he didn’t specify what type of medicine he was taking.

“Then I start to hear voices,” he said. “I started walking in the streets and hearing voices.”

He says he wants to clear up the warrant and get a lawyer, but he’s working locally as a painter and needs money to pay rent. He said he will go to court or police headquarters when he is able to take time off from his job, though his injuries are affecting his ability to work.

“I don’t want to be in trouble,” he said.

For Wisdom, knowing his alleged assailant is free and in Plymouth isn’t helping him recover from the harrowing ordeal. Especially since police seemingly lost track of Juarez.

“The first night, I slept on my couch with a sword and a hammer,” he said. “I should feel safer now, but I don’t.”

He said a family with three young girls lives next door.  

“I’m not happy that this happened to me,” he said, “but who knows what would have happened if he had walked into that house?

He is even thinking about getting a license to carry a gun.

“I think it would be a good idea,” Wisdom said.