Otay Mesa

A border robber was shot and wounded in a scuffle early Thursday between four suspected bandits and a team of law enforcement officers in a remote canyon just south of Otay Mesa Road, a San Diego police spokesman said.

Two of the bandits were arrested, while the other two escaped to Mexico, the spokesman said. Booked into County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted robbery were Andres Tapia Valencia, 21, and Emilio Jacabo Campos, 21, both Mexican citizens.

Valencia suffered a gunshot wound in the left calf during the scuffle, which began when the four suspected robbers surrounded the Border Crimes Prevention Unit team, which consisted of Sgt. Charles Woodruff, Officer Sean Murphy and U.S. Border Patrol Agent Steven Garcia.

The suspected burglars--armed with a knife, shotgun and steel club--ordered the three officers to lie on the ground. When Garcia identified himself and the other officers, Valencia allegedly came at him with a knife, said the spokesman.