The 54-year-old man charged with attempted murder after he allegedly slashed a grocery store worker’s neck in Haleiwa on Tuesday was overheard calling the victim a “vampire,” court records say.

John F. Mayhew, who has a long criminal history, made his initial appearance in Honolulu District Court on Friday after being charged with attempted second-degree murder in connection with the violent attack on Jerry Pedro, an assistant manager at Malama Market in Haleiwa. Judge Paula Devens confirmed his bail at $100,000.

Police said Mayhew attacked Pedro at the market Tuesday afternoon. According to a court document, Mayhew stabbed him with a small knife, then stabbed him a second time and dragged the blade across his neck.

Witnesses told police that Mayhew repeatedly said, “He doesn’t work there, he’s a vampire,” according to court documents. It’s unclear whether he uttered those words before or after the attack.

Mayhew fled the store when a witness chased him. Police said the witness and two other men held Mayhew down behind the store until officers arrived.

Police said Pedro suffered a lacerated trachea. Paramedics treated him and transported him in serious condition to The Queen’s Medical Center. He underwent surgery and has been upgraded to stable condition, but remained hospitalized as of Friday morning, according to Malama Market spokeswoman Sheryl Toda.

Mayhew’s lengthy criminal record includes terroristic threatening, harassment, abuse of a family or a household member, assault, assault of a police officer, criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct. He was recently released from prison in December after serving more than five years for a second-degree assault conviction.

Mayhew soon was back in trouble when he entered a Haleiwa home March 27 after finding a spare key hidden near the front door, according to court documents. The resident arrived home and found him taking a shower.

She immediately called police. According to court records, Mayhew spent 10 days in jail and pleaded no contest to criminal trespassing. On April 6, Judge Melanie May at Wahiawa District Court sentenced him to a year of probation.

Under the terms of his probation, May ordered him to seek mental health treatment under the direction of his probation officer and that Mayhew was responsible for paying for the treatment. Mayhew was also ordered to stay away from the Haleiwa resident and her husband.

In a separate case involving a terroristic threatening charge, a mental health court panel indicated Mayhew has schizophrenia.