Joanne Legere lives in a home set apart from others on Route 113, and it’s incidents like the brutal home invasion Sunday that make her keep her door locked at all times.

“You don’t know the people you live next door to now, what they’re like,” Legere said.

As Rick Carlson was released from the hospital after being beaten, stabbed and bound in his home on Shore Road in an apparent robbery attempt, some residents said the attack left them fearful about their safety in the small town where many homes are set apart and empty in winter months. Others, though, said they were unafraid because an attack of that nature was rare in what is usually a safe town and not likely to reoccur any time soon.

On Sunday morning at around 8:15 a.m. Carlson, 55, of 44 Shore Road, showed up at his friend and neighbor Chris Danie’s house bloody and banged up.

“He was saying, ‘Help me, I’ve been stabbed,'” Danie said. “He was pretty well shaken, but was kind of calm at the same time.”

According to Danie, Carlson was sleeping in the living room with the television on, which is normal for him. He told Danie he awoke at 2 a.m. to a gun pressed to his head and a man demanding money. He grabbed the gun, realized it was plastic and the two men fought. The intruder pulled out a carving knife and stabbed Carlson in the arm and the back, Danie said, also cutting Carlson’s hand in the process. The intruder stayed in his house for six hours, taking the time to wash his bloody clothing in Carlson’s washing machine and dryer and tying Carlson up with duct tape before he left, Danie said.

Later that day, police arrested Ephriam Bennett, 46, about a quarter mile from the crime scene and charged him with elevated aggravated assault, robbery and burglary. Bennett, who prefers to be addressed as “E,” has a criminal record in Texas, North Carolina and Maine. He lived previously in Searsmont, though his most recent address was in Raleigh, N.C, according to Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion.

Bennett was taken to Cumberland County Jail, where he awaited a bail hearing Thursday, after the Lakes Region Weekly deadline. Prosecutors planned to ask that Bennett be held without bail, according to Tamara Getchell, spokeswoman for the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office.

In interviews with other media outlets since his arrest, Bennett has disputed the charges against him and police’s version of events.

Carlson was taken to Maine Medical Center, where he was treated for two stab wounds, numerous cuts to his face and head and multiple broken ribs. He also lost a number of teeth from the incident, according to Dion. By Wednesday morning, he had been discharged from the hospital.

Danie, who lives down the road from Carlson in a neighborhood of mostly summer homes along Bonny Eagle Pond, said they’ve known each other for 10 years. Carlson, who works as a self-employed finish carpenter, helped him build his house, Danie said.

“He’s just a simple, everyday guy,” Danie said.

The neighborhood is a quiet place in the winter, Danie said. Many homes are left vacant once cold weather hits, and many walkways to front doors were covered in snow this week. Danie lives on property his grandfather and other relatives owned before him, and he came here on vacation before he moved to the property full time.

“We all know each other pretty much,” Danie said of the neighborhood. “Everybody looks out for everyone else.”

Danie, his girlfriend and other friends spent Monday morning cleaning Carlson’s house, including bringing Carlson’s bloody couch to the dump and buying him a new one.

“It was a bloody mess, not something you would want to come home to,” Danie said.

Danie said Carlson was calm enough Sunday morning to tell him what had happened. According to Danie, after Carlson was stabbed, he gave up fighting and curled up into a ball on the couch. The intruder stayed in his house, disabling Carlson’s phone, going through his change and washing his bloody clothing. He was wandering around the house demanding $3,000, Danie said, adding that Carlson told him the intruder also asked him to write a permission slip for use of his car.

Before he left, the man tied Carlson up in the bedroom, wedged a chair in front of the door to hold it closed and left him there, bleeding, Danie said. Carlson then forced the door open and freed himself from the duct tape tying his hands and feet. He drove to Danie’s house for help and they called the police.

Even though the man was wearing a mask, Carlson said he got a glimpse of his face and told Danie Sunday morning he thought he had seen the man around the neighborhood before.

“He kept saying, ‘He’s crazy,'” Danie said. “He wanted money, that’s all he wanted.”

Though Danie was shaken by his friend’s experience, he said it doesn’t make him scared to live where he lives.

“I think it’s a real isolated incident, never to repeat itself again,” Danie said. “You have to think like that.”

Some other Standish area residents, however, weren’t comforted by the seemingly random nature of the crime.

“I think it’s too close to home,” said Sebago resident Claire Thombs, who lives alone. “It’s very scary.”

In her 23 years living in Standish, Liz Keeley said she has seen the town change.

“Standish isn’t the little town it used to be,” Keeley said, adding that there are a lot more people living in the town and the crimes seem to be getting more and more bizarre.

Other residents were less affected by the incident.

“I’m not really scared about it,” said Standish resident Stan Gammon. “I think he was a random victim.” Gammon speculated that if the suspect lived in a nearby trailer, he could have been watching the victim.

Though he wasn’t worried for his own safety, Gammon understood why others might be. “Standish isn’t like this,” Gammon said. “I’m sure it shocks a lot of people.”

Laura Hebert, though, was unconcerned about the break-in. She said she’s lived in Standish her whole life and doesn’t worry about her safety.

Limington resident Kevin Wormwood, too, said hearing about the incident didn’t worry him. “I don’t feel unsafe,” Wormwood said.

Detectives are attempting to establish Bennett’s connection to three other burglaries in the vicinity.

Bennett is a convicted felon in the state of North Carolina and is a fugitive from justice due to a probation violation. He is also being held on an assault warrant from the Scarborough Police Department in connection with a domestic violence incident that occurred in that town two years ago.

“(Carlson is) lucky to be alive,” Danie said.

Ephriam BennettThe house where Richard Carlson lives alone on Shore Road. Though Chris Danie was shaken by having his friend, Rick Carlson, show up at his house Sunday bloody and battered, he said,