Capps sentenced to 20 years for murder

By MADELINE BUCKLEY

The Brownsville Herald

Formerly a fugitive on Texas’ top 10 most wanted list, Dennis Wayne Capps, 58, has entered a plea of no-contest in the murder of a man whose body was found on South Padre Island in 2006.

The plea comes almost six years after the death of Brian Arnold Aldrich and Capps’ subsequent flee from justice.

Capps, who faced a capital murder charge, agreed Tuesday morning to a 20-year prison sentence — just before his trial by jury was set to begin.

Cameron County Park Rangers discovered the body of Aldrich, 46, just north of Beach Access No. 5 in June 2006.

Capps was arrested in December of 2006 but was released on a $100,000 bond.

In October of 2007, he failed to appear for a court hearing in the state’s 107th district court and remained a highly-sought fugitive until he was apprehended in Nicaragua in 2009.

Executive First Assistant District Attorney Sam Smith said he discussed the potential plea with Aldrich’s family, in the area from Minnesota, before it was offered. The case was one of Smith’s first in Cameron County, as he was new to the county at the time of the slaying.

“They were satisfied with the outcome,” Smith said of the family, with whom he regularly met as the case progressed.

After Aldrich’s death, Capps was arrested along with two others: Fidencio Martinez, 48, and Aldrich’s girlfriend, Wanda Bernice Jens, 53. All three faced capital murder charges.

Martinez accepted a plea deal in 2008 – a 30-year sentence in exchange for testimony against Capps, Smith said.

On Tuesday the state dismissed the case against Jens. Smith said further investigation after her indictment indicated she was not involved.

Martinez was set to testify against Capps, but as an accomplice, Smith said his statements needed corroboration, which was a challenge to the prosecution’s case.

“We were hoping we would be able to corroborate co-defendant Fidencio Martinez’s statement,” Smith said.

Defense attorney Ed Cyganiewicz said the state entered a last-minute witness before the plea deal: Martinez’s brother.

“It was the best offer they made up to that point,” Cyganiewicz said.

Smith said no clear motive for the murder came up during the investigation.

Aldrich, a chef, was on South Padre Island with Jens, though their last known address was in Nebraska.

Capps was born in New York, and Martinez is a native of Florida.

Jens was with Aldrich on the beach on the morning of the day he died, but it seems he just happened upon Martinez and Capps later that day, Smith said.

“They met him by chance on the beach,” Smith said.

Cyganiewicz said he is pleased with the conclusion of the case, as his client could have faced life without parole on the capital murder charge. The state was not seeking the death penalty.

Smith said Capps would be eligible for parole after 10 years.