A man was stabbed Wednesday after confronting a burglar taking personal documents from his car in the Lowe’s home improvement parking lot off Zafarano Drive, according to police.

Jimmy Manygoats Jr. and his wife were exiting the store when they say they saw Larry Elifio Salazar inside of their 1989 maroon Toyota Carolla, according to Santa Fe police Lt. Louis Carlos. Manygoats engaged in a brief scuffle with Salazar at his car to retrieve a folder containing personal documents.

“When Mr. Manygoats turned his back to Mr. Salazar, he was stabbed under his left armpit,” Carlos said.

Manygoats was transported to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center where he was treated for a non-life threatening puncture wound, Carlos said. Police were uncertain of Manygoats’ age.

Salazar, 55, 1299 Vegas Verdes, was arrested by Officer Roger Jimenez after someone called police in reference to a fight. Salazar is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated motor vehicle burglary and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to a statement of probable cause for Salazar’s arrest he was shirtless when he allegedly broke into the car armed with a folding pocket knife and “appeared to be intoxicated.”

The court document states Manygoats was stabbed after he got his property back from Salazar.

“Mr. Manygoats stated he did fight back out of self-defense and Mr. Salazar walked away,” the statement documents.

Several Lowe’s employees, according to the document, pointed out Salazar who was still in the area to police. The knife used in the attack was also recovered by Lowe’s employees according to the statement of probable cause and given to police to be taken into evidence.

During a search of Salazar, police found a glass pipe and suspected narcotic residue in his pants, according to the statement of probable cause.

Salazar was convicted of receiving or transferring a stolen motor vehicle in 2008 in Santa Fe and is on probation from the state Department of Corrections. He is being held on no bond in Santa Fe county jail for violating the probation according to the jail website.

Salazar has several other convictions in the last decade in Santa Fe and Albuquerque according to court records. He was convicted of possession of drug paraphernalia in 2003 in Santa Fe and was convicted of burglary in 2008 in Albuquerque. In 2009, court records show, he pleaded no contest to escape from a community custody release program in Albuquerque.

Carlos said police do not advocate anyone in Manygoats’ situation to confront a burglar because of what the situation can escalate into.

“In situations like this, Santa Fe police are going to tell the citizens of Santa Fe to immediately call law enforcement and we will respond as promptly and expeditiously as possible,” Carlos said.

Contact Nico Roesler at 986-3089 or nroesler@sfnewmexican.com. Follow him on Twitter @nicoroesler.