Inset left: John Martin Dixon (Texas Department of Public Safety). Inset right: Emmanuel Menchaca (GoFundMe). Background: The house where Menchaca was shot three times in Houston, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas man is behind bars for shooting his neighbor”s son while the teenager was burying his pet guinea pig, Lone Star State police say.
John Martin Dixon, 46, stands accused of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Harris County Sheriff’s Office records show.
The underlying incident occurred just after midnight on July 17. On the night of the violence, officers with the Houston Police Department responded to a shooting in progress at a residence on Belgard Street.
There, Emmanuel Menchaca, 18, was shot three times, at least once in the back, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime.
A second member of the family – Menchaca’s younger brother – described also being shot at, but he was not hit by gunfire, police said.
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“Based on the statements by both complainants at the time, before the shooting occurred, both complainants were in the backyard of their home burying their pet Guinea Pig which had recently passed away,” the charging document reads. “After they were done, the complainants were going back towards the front of the residence in the driveway where they were shot at by their neighbor.”
Menchaca described feeling “a push from the back” and realized he had actually been “shot in the back,” according to the complaint.
As reality quickly set in, the younger brother took shelter behind a nearby vehicle – watching his sibling get shot over and over. At the same time, the brother said they could see Dixon standing outside.
Menchaca would later tell investigators he was “shocked” about the shooting and “didn’t understand why” Dixon allegedly “did that.”
In a GoFundMe for medical and moving expenses, the victim’s mother speaks fondly of her injured child – who has since begun to attend college in San Antonio.
“He is a hardworking young man who, in his free time, enjoys playing soccer with his friends, going to the gym, and eating Raising Cane’s,” the fundraiser reads. “Our son is such a loving, selfless, and goofy person who absolutely loves animals.”
Both the victim and his younger brother were able to run back inside and tell their parents about what had happened.
The charging document is light on specifics – but the defendant is linked to the firearm that was allegedly used in the shooting.
“[T]he owner of the firearm, [defendant’s father] John Morgan Dixon, stated that no one else uses his firearm but him,” the complaint goes on. “John Morgan Dixon stated he and his son, the Defendant, used the firearm earlier that day to shoot a snake by the back door of their home. Defendant also told officers on scene that he also used his dad’s firearm to shoot a possum earlier the same day.”
The firearm in question was recovered from the elder Dixon’s room, where it was stored underneath a flashlight, police said.
During a later interview, Menchaca’s brother described making “eye contact” with the alleged shooter, according to the complaint.
Weeks passed before charges were filed in the case. After the defendant was charged, in early August, he was placed on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive List. Dixon was arrested on Monday.
For now, the state of the case is less than ideal for Menchaca’s mother.
“I’m not satisfied with the charges. I would’ve preferred a higher charge,” Andrea Menchaca told Houston-based ABC affiliate KTRK. “Let’s not forget my son was in the hospital for 17 days in the ICU.”
The defendant is currently being detained in the Harris County Jail on $200,000 bond.
