Hearing Delayed for Linda Avenue Man Charged with Attempted Murder

A pretrial hearing for a Linda Avenue resident charged with the attempted murder of a federal agent in Newark earlier this year was delayed Thursday morning at the request of his attorney.

In an appearance in a Fremont courtroom May 31, attorney Barbara Thomas of the Alameda County Public Defender's office asked to have Dennis Bagwell's hearing moved to July. Thomas said she needs more time to review evidence in the case.

Bagwell, 61, faces charges of attempted murder and assault with a firearm in connection with a Feb. 7 shooting that critically injured U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer Robert Smith (identified as Robert Suplik in some media reports).

Bagwell pleaded not guilty to those charges on March 9.

Authorities have not released information about possible motives, but in Newark police reported that Bagwell had been in contact with Smith’s wife, Iryna Smith, who had been a student at Bay Area Optical Schools in Union City where Bagwell taught.

Those court documents also include a statement in which Bagwell’s daughter said she believed Bagwell “was trying to drive a wedge between the woman and her husband.”

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Bagwell was a licensed optician who once operated Redwood City Optical. A search of the building by federal agents and police after Bagwell's arrest turned up several boxes of ammunition, authorities said.

At the time of his arrest, Bagwell was a property manager of an apartment complex on Linda Avenue in Oakland, just outside the Piedmont city limits.

Bagwell's next court appearance is scheduled for July 13 at 9 a.m. at the Fremont Hall of Justice.