Judge expands temporary protection to cover Dixon Tree Service after petitioner alleges abuse and theft

A Dixon County chancery court judge on July 11 granted an emergency motion to expand a temporary order of protection to include business premises after petitioner Sabrina Ann Smithson testified that her husband, David Barry Dixon, stalked and harassed her and removed equipment from the company she runs, Dixon Tree Service LLC.

Smithson, testifying under oath, described a pattern of physical, verbal, financial and emotional abuse she said dates back decades and culminated in increased harassment this spring. "I just want to live my life and be left alone and, just be at peace of some sort," Smithson said during her testimony.

The petitioner's attorney, Alyssa Castronova, told the court the case involved "escalating abuse" that included threats, stalking, and what she described as economic sabotage directed at Smithson’s business. Castronova said Smithson filed an emergency motion to expand the temporary protection after Smithson said Dixon stole vehicles and other equipment from job sites and the business, actions Castronova said violated the existing temporary order.

Smithson testified that the couple has four children, ages 26, 21, 15 and 12; that Dixon is separately employed at Duke Energy in Indiana; and that Dixon Tree Service LLC operates storm-response tree-trimming work across several states and is her primary source of income. She told the court Dixon removed or took control of bucket trucks, trailers, chainsaws, ropes, keys and other gear and that the business had to replace or rent equipment to keep employees working.

Smithson estimated the business effects at about $150,000; accounting manager and witness Tammy Sue Bird, who works for Dixon Tree Service LLC, testified she and others had calculated a loss of roughly $220,000 when factoring in lost billing, replacement equipment and wages. Bird said employees were "very nervous" and that equipment returned after being taken often lacked supplies or tools.

Another company employee, Christopher Luke Sager, described an incident on a storm call in Oklahoma in June in which Dixon obtained keys and removed a bucket truck from a job site; Sager said that action prevented him from meeting other job calls that day. Smithson also described voicemail threats and repeated unwanted texts that she entered into evidence; she said she filed the petition on July 9 and that Dixon was served on July 11.

During cross-examination, defense counsel questioned witnesses about ownership and title for specific trucks and equipment and whether some vehicles had been financed in Dixon’s name. Witnesses acknowledged not all assets had been retitled and that some vehicles had originally been financed using Dixon’s credit. The defense also raised the business’s federal woman-owned status and asked whether Dixon’s role and ownership had been consistent with that status.

The judge granted Smithson’s emergency motion to extend the temporary order of protection to include the business premises and to bar Dixon from the business. The court record shows Dixon has been arrested in connection with alleged violations of the temporary order; Smithson testified she believed he was out on bail but did not provide official bail documentation in court.

No final permanent order was recorded in the transcript excerpt; the hearing included direct testimony, cross-examination and admission of text and voicemail evidence, and the court continued to take evidence and argument on related issues of property ownership and the scope of relief. The judge directed that the signed order expanding protection be filed with the clerk so it would take effect when entered.

Smithson and her attorneys also asked the court to award attorney fees incurred in bringing the petition. The transcript shows the court accepted exhibits of text messages and voicemails and addressed the admissibility of certain financial and sales documents offered by the parties.