The man accused of attacking a well-known local chef inside his North Plymouth home last month will remain in jail until trial, a judge ruled Thursday.
After a 30-minute dangerousness hearing, Plymouth District Court Judge Shelby Smith granted a prosecutor’s request to keep Jose Juarez, 38, behind bars until at least January.
Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Thomas Kelly described Juarez as a “crazed and violent intruder” whose August 15 attack left Mike Wisdom “confused and terrified.”
“I ask that you find him dangerous and hold him pending trial so he will not terrorize any other residents of this county,” Kelly told the judge.
His defense lawyer, Maureen Crowley, asked that Juarez be freed, possibly with electronic monitoring, a curfew, or a competency evaluation.
Jailing Juarez, she said, would amount to penalizing him for a “mental health emergency” that caused his bizarre behavior that day.
She said Juarez works on a construction crew and sends most of his pay to his native Guatemala to support his wife and three children. He has been living in the United States since 2010, Crowley said.
Wisdom, who owns The Edge pizza shop on Main Street, said he was relieved by the judge’s decision.
“I’m happy to hear he will be locked up and not able to intrude in anyone else’s house. Who knows what would happen if he was let go?” he said.
Juarez faces several charges, including breaking and entering, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
He is accused of entering Wisdom’s home on the morning of August 15 and assaulting him with a table while shouting incoherently about Jesus.
Wisdom fought back, striking Juarez with a hammer and eventually breaking free. Covered in blood, Wisdom ran to the North Plymouth fire station across the street, with Juarez in pursuit, allegedly brandishing a skateboard he had taken from Wisdom’s home.
Juarez was arrested that day and treated for head injuries at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. He later underwent a psychiatric evaluation at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth.
He was supposed to return to court for his arraignment on August 22, but failed to show up, according to court records. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
Not knowing where Juarez was, Wisdom couldn’t sleep — afraid that his attacker might return.
But, apparently unbeknownst to the police or the district attorney’s office, Juarez was home, where he returned after being discharged from the hospital.
Reached by phone last week, Juarez said he didn’t remember what happened — only that he hadn’t slept for three days and was wandering the streets hearing voices.
He said he remembers waking up at South Shore Hospital, where he said he underwent surgery for head injuries caused by the hammer blows. (In court, his lawyer said he received stitches for his injuries.)
Everything that happened before that, he said, was a blur.
Juarez told the Plymouth Independent that he had been suffering from severe insomnia, unable to sleep for 72 hours. Also, he didn’t have his medication, he said. Juarez 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.”
Told there was a warrant out for his arrest, he said he would turn himself in to police or the court.
According to Plymouth police, he hadn’t done so when officers found him and brought him back to Plymouth District Court on August 29, two weeks after the incident.
In court Thursday, Crowley described the two men as engaging in “mutual combat” — and suggested the fight may have been unfair since a police photo seemed to show that Wisdom was much heavier than Juarez (In fact, Wisdom weighs 225 pounds; Juarez is just 135 pounds.)
Kelly, the prosecutor, said the judge shouldn’t consider Wisdom’s size or his willingness to fight back.
“Mr. Wisdom’s actions in defending himself at 8 a.m. from a crazed and violent intruder into his own home should have no bearing on determining this defendant’s dangerousness. Nor should his stature…” Kelly said.
A Spanish interpreter was present at the hearing to translate for Juarez.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.