SHOOTING OF N.Y. DAD OF HAUNTS DEA AGENTS

NEW YORK -- Egbert Dewgard ran an errand last spring that cost him his life
- -- on that point, no one disagrees.

But nine months later, the circumstances of Dewgard's death remain a source
of strife for his grieving family and the Drug Enforcement Administration
agent who faces a rare manslaughter charge in a case that has stunned DEA
officials.

It is the first time in recent memory that a federal officer was charged in
an on-duty shooting on city streets, authorities said.

The agent, Jude Tanella, and his bosses insist he acted in self- defense
against a dangerous suspect who was carrying nearly 6.5 pounds of cocaine.

"He was just doing his duty," defense attorney Lawrence Berger said.

Dewgard's family believes the allegations were fabricated to justify the
useless slaying of a hardworking family man. Authorities concede Dewgard
had no criminal record, was unarmed and was shot in the back. The medical
examiner classified the death a homicide.

"I want people to know what his life was really about," Michelle Wagner,
Dewgard's fiance, said in a recent interview. "This is an innocent guy. ...
I want justice."

Dewgard, 31, led a quiet life, putting in long hours at his family's print
shop and shuttling his two children to and from Catholic school, Little
League and music lessons in a beat-up car, Wagner said. On May 1, 2002, he
left work around noon to pick up his daughter at school, but never made it
there, she said.

Court papers filed for Tanella give a much different account:

Instead of the school, Dewgard went to an apartment building where DEA
agents saw him pick up a black plastic bag. When agents tried to arrest
him, Dewgard rammed his car into the agents' vehicles and sped away.
Tanella followed in his car, the two ended up in a foot chase and
eventually a struggle.

Tanella said he shot the other man after he lunged for his gun. A black
plastic bag, containing three kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street
value of $250,000, was found at the scene.

After being indicted by a state grand jury last year, Tanella pleaded
innocent to first-degree manslaughter and was put on desk duty pending the
outcome of the case. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

A judge has since ruled the case will be heard in federal court. There --
unlike state court -- the agent's lawyers can argue he is immune from
criminal charges because the shooting was the result of his federal duties.

In a guilty plea last month, drug dealer Curlon Mendes identified Dewgard
as his partner in a scheme to distribute cocaine. Mendes was arrested after
his fingerprints were found on the bag carried by Dewgard, prosecutors said.

Family members still say the DEA agents made a tragic mistake. They've
hired attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr., setting the stage for a wrongful death
lawsuit.

Dewgard "was a decent, humble person," his fiance said. "He comes from a
very, very good family. You can't take that away from him."