Pretrial for Linda Avenue Man Suspected of Shooting Federal Agent to Begin Friday

Pretrial for Linda Avenue resident Dennis Bagwell, 61, charged with the attempted murder of a federal officer who lives in Newark, is scheduled to begin Friday.

Bagwell entered a plea of not guilty to the charges of attempted murder and assault with a firearm at his last court appearance on March 9.

At Friday’s court hearing, it is expected that attorneys will set dates aside for preliminary examinations to determine whether the case will go to trial.

Bagwell was arrested Feb. 7 in Union City after police found an off-duty federal agent suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his chest in front of his Newark home.

Authorities have not detailed any possible motives but did state in court documents that they believe Bagwell is the lone suspect responsible for the shooting that injured U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer Robert Smith, whose last name has also been identified as Suplik in several media reports.

Although Bagwell's mailing address is in Piedmont, the apartment building on Linda Avenue where he lived is just outside the city limits in Oakland.

A search of that apartment by police and federal agents in February found five boxes of ammunition, including  .22 caliber long rifle and .22 short H.V. rimfire types, according to police documents.

Several sources have noted that Smith’s wife, Iryna Smith, had been a student at where Bagwell taught.

In late March, three Newark police officers were honored for the actions they took after finding Robert Smith critically injured and the federal officer stood up in front of a large crowd to thank law enforcement officers and medical personnel for their efforts in saving his life.

“I stand here before you, only by the grace of God and extraordinary efforts of Newark Police Officer Randy Ramos, Sgt. John Kovach and Officer Karl Geser,” Smith said.

He added, “On behalf of my wife and daughter, we are humbled by outpour of support. …We owe you a debt of gratitude. … Thank you for all you’ve done for us in our most difficult time in our lives.”

Bagwell is scheduled to appear at the Fremont Hall of Justice at 9 a.m. on Friday in Dept. 605.