Illegal Immigrants Caught At Border

Two illegal immigrants, sought for questioning in an attempted slaying in Oregon, were in custody Friday after trying to enter Canada at Blaine, officials say.

Rudolpho Ponce, 25, and Arturo Nolasco-Pineda, 21, both of Mexico, were arrested Thursday by U.S. Border Patrol agents after they were turned away at the Canadian border, said Gene Davis, assistant chief of the patrol in Blaine.

Agents determined the pickup driven by the men was stolen, and found a bloody knife and a .22-caliber pistol in the truck, Davis said.

The two men were sought for questioning by Portland police in the Wednesday night shooting and stabbing of a drug dealer, the Bellingham Herald reported.

Nolasco-Pineda was being held in the Whatcom County Jail on a fugitive warrant. Ponce was being held at a federal immigration facility in Seattle while Portland police completed warrants and extradition orders, Davis said.