DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Victims who say a metro Atlanta tree removal business stole their money have been waiting seven years for their day in court which has still not come.
Angela Hodges is charged with felony counts of theft by taking and theft by deception, dating all the way back to 2018.
But she was initially a no-show, once again, in DeKalb County Superior Court for a pretrial hearing. Judge Asha Jackson was fed up with what she said appeared to be delay tactics.
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“This is ongoing. Every time we have a pretrial or an arraignment, it’s always something. Always. That’s problematic,” Judge Jackson said.
Jackson initially issued a bench warrant for Hodges after suspecting that a doctor’s note claiming Hodges was sick that was sent to the court was a fake.
“The veracity of this is troubling to me. I’ve never seen anybody send over something that looks cut and pasted,” Jackson said.
But less than 40 minutes later, Hodges appeared in the courtroom. Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray caught up with her as she was leaving the courthouse.
“So, what happened in there? We were in there. And you didn’t show?” Gray asked.
“No. As soon as I got released from the hospital, I did show. And the judge took the information and is willing to hear our side of the story to get the case moving forward,” Hodges replied.
Channel 2 Action News Investigates has been reporting on Angela Hodges and problems with her tree removal service since 2023.
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But customer complaints date back years before that.
She’s been arrested multiple times in multiple counties.
And there have been at least 40 civil cases. Hodges calls her business Don’s Tree Experts.
It is suspiciously similar to a highly rated tree removal business, Don’s Tree Service.
Confused customers who thought they got the other Don’s told us in 2023 that they end up paying for tree removal which never happened.
“Weeks turned into months, months turned into years, and nothing has been done,” Joseph Gordon said.
Channel 2 Consumer Advisor Clark Howard says it is tough to ever get your money back in civil or criminal court in cases like this.
“The cases are hard to prove. They’re hard to investigate. And so, consumers are left without any help at all. Your money is gone,” Howard said.
Hodges claims all her victims in the case have been refunded.
A motions hearing on the criminal charges is scheduled for September with a trial date in October.
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