Robert W. Dixon

Robert W. Dixon was born in Cambridge, England, in 1959. His mother was British and his father was an American serving in the United States Air Force. A few years later his father was transfered to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California.

After graduating from Crystal Junior High, he attended Fairfield High School for a few days in 1973 before being permanently suspended. He left Fairfield in 1975 and hit the road, bumming around American cities throughout the South before making San Francisco his city of choice.

It was in San Francisco that he aggressively turned to drugs and crime. In order to support his drug habit, he started robbing drug dealers in the Bay Area, focusing on San Francisco. A “lick” (a drug rob- bery) usually netted a large supply of drugs, money, and weapons. Robert estimates that in his fifteen- to twenty-year career he pulled off 150 to 200 licks, always keeping his activity in the criminal world.

His crime spree ran from 1975 to 1995 and landed him over 50 arrests by San Francisco police alone and eight prison stints. His first prison term was in San Quentin, then Vacaville, and then Solano, and so on through Folsom, Soledad, Calipatria, Pelican Bay, and finally, Susanville.

Dixon and his wife often served prison terms at the same time. In 1995 they were able to parole to Placer County (Granite Bay) and lived in his mother’s garage. He stayed clean and succeeded at sever- al entrepreneurial endeavors. He started Dixon & Son Handyman doing odd jobs from 1995 to 1998. Then Dixon Christmas Tree and Lighting Service from 1998-2001. In all these efforts he was very indus- trious, successful, and frugal, saving his money to eventually build his multi-million dollar estate.

In 2000, he got the opportunity to design and install a six-digit landscape project in a very prestigious neighborhood in Granite Bay. It was here that he learned he had a natural ability to design, plan, and manage large-scale landscape projects. He named his company Granite Bay’s Local Landscape Company, the recipient of the 2005 Master Gardener’s Award. Dixon had no problem acquiring wealthy clients who wanted him to install showcase landscapes in the surrounding exclusive neighborhoods.

In 2010, Dixon was starting to feel a downturn in business. He approached his mortgage lender to get his loan refinanced. When the bank refused, he picketed and beat them. (His mortgage went from over $6,000 to $1,700 per month.) This is where he learned that he had a passion for picketing unjust busi- nesses, banks, and corrupt lawyers. When friends or family got ripped off by doctors, lawyers, hedge funds, or insurance companies, he picketed and won.

In late 2012, Dixon started writing his memoir, From Prison Gates to A Gated Estate. Typical of his per- sonality, he holds nothing back about drugs, the street, crime, prison, business, and success. Starting September, 2013 he embarks on a cross-country, national book tour in his fully-wrapped RV that he had customized for book fairs and public events.