A man caught trying to steal liquor at Sam's Club is facing much more serious charges than shoplifting after he pulled a sword on store workers Sunday and wounded one of them, according to Santa Fe police.

Paul David Rodriguez, 41, was trying to steal two bottles of Patron tequila from the Rodeo Road store when an assistant manager confronted him and took him to a store office to await the police, according to a probable-cause statement. The assistant manager told two workers to keep an eye on Rodriguez, and when he left, Rodriguez pulled a 28-inch sword he had concealed in a walking cane and held it to the throat of one of the workers, the statement says.

"You don't want to do this. Let me out now," he told the worker, who let Rodriguez go, according to the statement.

The assistant manager tried to stop Rodriguez, who slashed and lunged at the assistant manager with the sword, scratching him twice on the side of his torso, the statement says. Deputy Police Chief Benjie Montaño said the assistant manager suffered minor injuries.

Rodriguez ran for an exit, slipped and hit his head on a metal flatbed cart, causing his head to bleed, the statement says. He ran outside, hopped into a car that was waiting for him, and yelled at the driver to take off, it says. The driver, seeing Rodriguez covered in blood, drove a short distance before telling him to get out because she didn't want to be involved with the incident, the statement says.

The driver later told police she knew Rodriguez from mutual friends and picked him up when he was hitchhiking, the statement says.

Rodriguez took off running, with several store workers behind him, before an officer arrived and told him to stop, the statement says. He ignored the officer's order to lie face down and walked toward the officer, who grabbed the front of Rodriguez's shirt, pushed him to the ground and put both of his knees on Rodriguez's back, the statement says.

After the officer found the sword in Rodriguez's pants, Rodriguez allegedly told him, "I am going to remember you and first chance I get, I am going to ... kill you," the statement says.

Rodriguez, who is also identified in police reports as David Paul Rodriguez, is listed as a Belen resident and might also have Santa Fe-area connections. He is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, concealing identity, shoplifting and intimidation of a witness.