Man sentenced to life for murder of neighbor recorded on victim’s phone

A 56-year-old Colorado Springs man was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office.

James Hanlon was found guilty after shooting his neighbor, Gary Dolce, 63, nine times on March 27, 2019, after a dispute over his dog. Hanlon was arrested two days later after turning himself in to police.

Hanlon was also found guilty of two counts of aggravated witness intimidation.

Police said Dolce’s cellphone was found near the body in the 1800 block of Rimwood Drive in Colorado Springs. The phone was still recording and had captured much of the shooting on video.

According to an arrest affidavit, the video showed a blue SUV driven by Hanlon, who pointed a black handgun at Dolce while wearing a blue, disposable glove.

The video captured several shots being fired and Dolce falling to the ground yelling, “Oh my God!” A second volley of shots is heard but is not captured on video.

The shooting happened about an hour after Hanlon was cited for having an aggressive animal. In an audio recording regarding that, an animal control officer and Hanlon can be heard talking about the fence separating his property from Dolce’s, according to the affidavit.

Over a month before the shooting, police responded to “an altercation” between Dolce and Hanlon, according to the arrest affidavit. Dolce told police “his neighbor was trying to get him to fight and that there were ongoing issues with the neighbor,” the document said.