ADRIAN — The Dale Warner trial continued February 20 with detailed testimony about welding equipment, anhydrous ammonia tanks and surveillance footage from April 25, 2021. Witnesses Ivan Boyd and James Hawkins described farm operations, tank maintenance procedures and tools seen on video at the Munger Road property.
Ivan Boyd, a former employee of the Warner farm and trucking operation, testified he worked for the business for four years prior to April 2021. He described his duties as including trucking deliveries, fertilizer application, fieldwork and general maintenance. Boyd said Dale Warner primarily handled chemical spraying, anhydrous application on farm-owned fields and planting, while mechanic James Hawkins oversaw tank preparation and servicing.
Boyd testified welding typically occurred in the “old shop,” identified as Building 1 on the farm layout, and sometimes in the “new shop,” Building 5. He said he did not recall any welding taking place in the spray barn, identified as Building 7.
Boyd described anhydrous ammonia tanks as steel containers weighing approximately 6,000 pounds empty and up to 12,000 to 15,000 pounds loaded. He testified tanks were filled outdoors, weighed before and after use and transported to customer fields. He said precautions included wearing gloves, eye protection and standing upwind due to the chemical’s hazardous nature.
James Hawkins testified he was responsible for servicing anhydrous tanks and preparing them for use. He described the mother and nurse tanks storing anhydrous, the fill and vapor valves and the 85 percent fill threshold monitored by gauge. Hawkins said he had never cut the end off a field tank and could not think of a reason to do so.
During cross-examination, Boyd testified he worked 70 to 80 hours per week during planting and harvest seasons and described Dale Warner as laid back and not prone to losing his temper. He said he did not observe anything unusual on April 25, 2021, and did not recall seeing Warner working on a tank that day.
Prosecutors also presented still images from surveillance footage showing a person identified by Boyd as Dale Warner carrying grinding discs and a corded grinder and later moving a welder in the new shop. Boyd testified he recognized Warner’s handwriting on multiple notebooks and loose papers recovered from the farm.
The court admitted surveillance footage and aerial maps into evidence by stipulation prior to witness testimony.
The Dale Warner trial will continue with additional witness testimony and further review of surveillance footage and physical evidence as proceedings move forward in Lenawee County Circuit Court next week. Trial resumes February 24, 2026.