San Ysidro

An illegal alien was stabbed to death and two others were wounded Sunday night as they crossed the border on the Tijuana River flood-control levee near the San Ysidro port of entry, a police spokesman said Monday.

Rogelio Cota, 32, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was the third victim this year to die at the hands of border bandits, said Bill Robinson of the San Diego Police Department. The two unidentified men traveling with Cota were treated for minor stab wounds at Mercy Hospital and released to Border Patrol agents, Robinson said.

About 8:20 p.m. Sunday, two undocumented men reported to Border Patrol agents that they were attacked by robbers while attempting to cross into the United States along the flood-control channel, 175 feet west of the end of Virginia Avenue, Robinson said. Agents and San Diego police went to the scene and found Cota lying on the bottom edge of the south levee, Robinson said.

San Diego homicide detectives will investigate, Robinson said.

In 1988, there were seven killings in the international border area that appeared to be robbery-related, Robinson said. So far this year, there have been 50 robberies along the border, an increase from 42 robberies in 1988, Robinson said.