PHOENIX – Law officers have apprehended 17 suspected illegal immigrants while hunting for suspected smugglers who shot and wounded a sheriff's deputy in a remote desert area 50 miles south of Phoenix.

Pinal County sheriff's Lt. Tamatha Villar says three of those captured match descriptions given by the deputy. They were being questioned Saturday morning.

The violent episode came amid nationwide debate over the state's tough new immigration law.

Deputy Louie Puroll was patrolling alone Friday afternoon near Interstate 8 when he came upon a stash of marijuana bales and five suspected smugglers. Villar says the smugglers opened fire with AK-47 type rifles, and Puroll returned fire.