Man accused of shooting neighbor 12 times over dog dispute withdraws insanity plea
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The family of Gary Dolce is finally one step closer in the search for justice for his 2019 murder, after waiting more than three years for his accused killer to go to trial.
His neighbor, 56-year-old James Hanlon, is facing life in prison for Dolce's death. Court documents allege Hanlon shot Dolce on March 27, 2019 over a dispute about Hanlon's dog. Dolce's autopsy report shows he was shot 12 times.
In court Friday, Hanlon asked a judge to dismiss his counsel on the basis of "losing confidence" in them. After a meeting closed to the public with a separate judge, the judge presiding over the case decided Hanlon would have to keep his counsel, meaning his trial will begin as scheduled on April 12, 2022.
On Friday, Hanlon also formally withdrew his plea of "not guilty by reason of insanity" that he entered in August of 2020. He is now pleading "not guilty" before heading into trial next week.
Court documents show Hanlon was served a ticket by the humane society for "having an aggressive animal" on March 27, 2019 around 5:38 p.m. By 6:24 p.m., video shows a man matching Hanlon's description drive up to Dolce and start firing. Investigators found the video on a phone laying next to Dolce, it appears he recorded his own murder.
As the man matching Hanlon's description pulls up to Dolce, the video shows him saying, "you're stupid," before opening fire. He also appeared to be wearing disposable gloves at the time of the shooting.
Police filed an arrest warrant for Hanlon on March 28, 2019. He turned himself in to police in Denver the following day. He's facing two counts of intimidating a witness and one count of first-degree murder. If convicted on his first-degree murder charge, he will spend the rest of his life in prison as that's the mandatory sentence in Colorado for a first-degree murder conviction.