HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Houston police confirm that the man wanted for shooting a teen boy who was mourning his guinea pig is still wanted, after the teen’s family said they were told he’d been arrested.

John Martin Dixon was charged in the July 17 shooting of his next-door neighbor, 17-year-old Emmanuel Menchaca, outside Menchaca’s south side Houston home.

Menchaca and his 12-year-old brother were walking inside after burying their pet guinea pig when police say Dixon shot Menchaca in the back.

“I just thought I’d tripped until I heard my brother yelling, and that’s when I realized, you know, I got shot, seeing all the blood,” said Menchaca.

Menchaca spent more than two weeks in the hospital but is now out and walking. Still, he says he’s more dejected than ever after learning Dixon hasn’t been arrested.

“I just don’t believe people are trying hard enough,” Menchaca said.

Menchaca was joined at a Wednesday news conference by activists from FIEL Houston who expressed skepticism about efforts to find Dixon.

“We want to give the authorities the benefit of the doubt, but it’s been over a month,” said Cesar Espinosa, FIEL’s executive director.

It’s important to note that such a time frame isn’t unheard of when police are trying to track down a wanted fugitive.

Dixon, who Menchaca said had always been friendly in the past, wasn’t charged until three weeks after the shooting. It’s been a point of contention with activists.

“Had this investigation been done properly and thoroughly from the beginning, somebody would have been arrested that night. Somebody should have been arrested that night,” Espinosa said.

A charging document indicates police interviewed Dixon’s father the night of the shooting and recovered the gun that was fired.

The next day, the document notes that Menchaca positively identified Dixon in a photo lineup. It’s unclear why charges weren’t filed until Aug. 8.

“It makes me feel annoyed, irritated,” said Andrea Menchaca, the victim’s mother.

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