Crime & Safety

Man Charged in Shooting of Federal Officer May Have Been Infatuated with Victim's Wife

Is suspect Dennis Bagwell a Piedmont resident or not? "Not," says Piedmont City Clerk John Tulloch, if the address reported for Bagwell by a witness to an FBI search is correct.

A Linda Avenue man was charged Thursday with premeditated attempted murder for allegedly shooting an off-duty federal agent in Newark on Tuesday, a crime that may have stemmed from an attraction to the man's wife.

Bagwell appeared for an arraignment at the Fremont Hall of Justice in Dept. 604 Thursday afternoon. He faces charges of attempted murder and assault with a firearm and is being held at Santa Rita Jail on no bail.

Bagwell only spoke directly to Superior Court Judge Richard Keller and requested a public defender. Bagwell is scheduled to appear in court again at 9 a.m. Friday at the Fremont Hall of Justice.

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A group of what appeared to be acquaintances of the victim, including U.S. Customs and Border officers, sat quietly guarded by bailiffs in the courtroom.

On the opposite side of the room, Bagwell's family members sat in the front row, and a bailiff denied Bagwell's sister's request to hand him a note.

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As they rushed out of the courtroom, the woman, who identified herself as Bagwell's sister, told reporters that she "wanted to tell [Bagwell] that we love him and we support him."

News reports have repeatedly identified Bagwell as a Piedmont resident and a property manager, but it appears likely that he actually lives just outside the city limits in Oakland. Newark police have confirmed that Bagwell lives on Linda Avenue but would not confirm an exact address.

A neighbor who witnessed an FBI search Tuesday of a 30-unit apartment building on Linda Avenue, believed to be the complex that Bagwell managed, gave Piedmont Patch the address. That address is in Oakland, according to Alameda County property tax assessment records.

Piedmont City Clerk John Tulloch confirmed Thursday that the address of the searched building is in Oakland, just two parcels beyond the Piedmont city limits. The dividing line between the two cities runs along the curb on the north (Piedmont Avenue) side of Kingston Avenue where it crosses Linda Avenue.

Authorities have said that Bagwell has no criminal history, and Milner said Thursday he does not believe that Newark police ever had to be in contact with Bagwell prior to Tuesday’s shooting.

According to police documents, Bagwell confronted the agent outside of his home on Mayhews Landing Road and Bettencourt Street as he was leaving for work shortly before 6 a.m. Tuesday.

The two men had met through the agent's wife, who was a student of Bagwell's at the Bay Area Optical School in Union City several months ago.

The school's owner and director, Daniel Ross, identified the victim as Robert Suplik, 61, a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent stationed at San Francisco International Airport.

Police said that an officer accompanying Suplik in the ambulance asked if Suplik knew who had shot him, and he told the officer "Dennis" (Bagwell's first name) several times, and also mentioned Bay Area Optical School.

Police said that Suplik's wife implicated Bagwell in the shooting, telling investigators that the two had an uneasy relationship, and that Bagwell had attempted to initiate a more intimate relationship with her, but she turned him down.

Police said that she maintained a casual relationship with Bagwell, and spoke to him over the phone and through text messages occasionally, but that Bagwell sometimes behaved erratically, and had recently shown up at their home hiding in the bushes. After that, Suplik had confronted Bagwell about his behavior and told him to leave his wife alone.

Bagwell last communicated with the family on Friday, police said.

Ross, owner of the optical school, said there are only two teachers at the small school and classes are very small.

Bagwell had been teaching Suplik's teenage daughter how to drive, Ross said.

Suplik remains in very condition at Eden Medical Center, police said.

Police said a search of Bagwell's home and vehicles turned up guns, ammunition and pictures of Suplik's wife.

Bay City News Service, Nika Megina and Dixie Jordan contributed to this report. Portions of the article are copyright © 2012 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.


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