Shooting Suspect's Request to See Eye Doctor Denied

A man suspected of shooting and critically injuring an off-duty federal officer appeared in court today only to have his pretrial continued to May.

Dennis Bagwell, 61, to charges of attempted murder and assault with a firearm that stems from a February shooting in front of a Newark home. Bagwell has been linked to residences in Fremont and on Linda Avenue near the Piedmont-Oakland border.

Public Defender Barbara Thomas requested for the pretrial  to be delayed during his court appearance just after noon on Friday because she is waiting to receive one more piece of evidence that she has not yet analyzed. She did not give more detail as to what that evidence was.

Donning a red jumpsuit, Bagwell appeared in front of Alameda County Superior Judge Dennis McLaughlin and, like in previous court appearances, did not speak on the charges.

However, he did speak on his desire to see a doctor.

Thomas announced that Bagwell, a former optician who owned a practice in Redwood City, has been suffering vision problems and has requested to see a doctor after having seen a nurse at Santa Rita Jail where he is being held on no bail.

Since being arrested, Bagwell has been .

“I cannot even see my hands from my left eye,” Bagwell told McLaughlin.

But McLaughlin denied the request noting that he did not “see a need for an order at this time” since Bagwell is waiting to hear back from whether the nurse can recommend a doctor through the county jail system.

Bagwell was arrested Feb. 7 in Union City after officers responded to the 7700 block of Mayhews Landing Road in Newark and found an off-duty federal agent, who was later identified by media as Robert Suplik, outside of his one-story home.

Authorities have not released a direct motive, but Bagwell may have had a “near obsession” with Suplik’s wife, Iryna Smith. Sources have confirmed that Smith was a student of Bagwell’s at the Bay Area Optical Schools in Union City.

Bagwell was ordered to return to court for further pretrial on May 31 at the Fremont Hall of Justice beginning at 9 a.m.