Police arrest John Martin Dixon for allegedly shooting Emmanuel Menchaca, who was injured while burying his guinea pig.
HOUSTON — Over a month after a teen was shot while burying his guinea pig, an arrest has been made.
The victim’s neighbor, John Martin Dixon, was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault in the July 17 shooting.
Emmanuel Menchaca was critically injured at his home on Belgard Street north of Bellfort Avenue in the South Park area. Police said Menchaca and his younger brother were burying their pet guinea pig, Cookie, in their yard when the victim was shot three times in the back.
Menchaca, who was just weeks away from heading to college, spent weeks in the ICU and is now at home recovering.
Since the shooting, FIEL had been working with the family to demand charges against Martin. They said Menchaca’s 12-year-old brother witnessed the shooting and identified the neighbor as the alleged gunman.
“This whole event really changed my life by changing everything I used to do. Before all this, I used to be really physical, going out and staying busy,” Menchaca said at a previous news conference with FIEL. “Now, I just wake up and can’t really do much.”
FIEL and family will hold a news conference on Tuesday, August 26 at 11 a.m. You can stream live on KHOU 11+.
‘I’m not going to make it’
That morning, Emmanuel’s mom told KHOU 11 that he came into her bedroom and was bleeding.
“He said, ‘Mom, I love you, Dad, I love you, I’m not going to make it,'” Andrea said.
She didn’t understand why her son was shot.
“He buried the guinea pig on my property, never stepped foot, never laid a hand on the resident’s property,” Andrea told us.
Watch the update HPD gave at the scene: