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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“I just don’t believe people are trying hard enough,” Menchaca said.<\/p>\n
Menchaca was joined at a Wednesday news conference by activists from FIEL Houston who expressed skepticism about efforts to find Dixon.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
It’s important to note that such a time frame isn’t unheard of when police are trying to track down a wanted fugitive.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
A charging document indicates police interviewed Dixon’s father the night of the shooting and recovered the gun that was fired.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“It makes me feel annoyed, irritated,” said Andrea Menchaca, the victim’s mother.<\/p>\n
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