Gary Michael Dolan: Gymea axe murderer sentenced for drink driving

A man who spent years behind bars for bludgeoning his stepmother with an axe has landed himself back behind bars after a boozy drive.

A man who murdered his stepmother with an axe has landed himself back behind bars.

Gary Michael Dolan, aged 59, faced Hornsby Local Court over a string of driving offences — driving while drunk, using an unregistered car and driving while disqualified from holding a licence.

Hornsby Local Court heard Dolan’s alcohol and drug issues began in the 1970s and continued throughout subsequent decades.

According to his lawyer, the “culmination” of her client’s substance abuse led to his “serious offence … murder”.

In 2002, after a day of heavy drinking, Dolan bludgeoned his stepmother to death as she lay sleeping on the lounge at her Gymea home, in Sydney’s south.

Gary Dolan (not pictured) faced Hornsby Local Court over drink driving charges

Dolan later pleaded guilty to this murder and was sentenced to 15 years and four months imprisonment, with a non parole period of 10 years and three months. He was released from jail in 2013.

Dolan’s defence lawyer said her client was able to get off the drugs in jail and complete a landscaping course there.

After leaving jail, Dolan integrated back into society and ran a landscaping business, at one point employing five people, a court heard.

But when Dolan left to go care for his dying mother, he had to wind up his business and started drinking again.

Court documents show Dolan did not land back before the courts until August 2021, when he attended Gosford Local Court for a drink driving offence. At Gosford, Dolan’s licence was disqualified for five years.

The latest drink driving offences occurred on October 7, 2021, when a member of the public observed Dolan driving while drunk in Thornleigh, a court heard.

Dolan latest drink driving charge occurred at Thornleigh Marketplace

“The witness observed … (Dolan) park his vehicle and in doing so collide with the rear of another vehicle’s bumping bar, causing a large crunching sound,” court documents state.

Dolan then entered a bottle shop and was observed drinking alcohol while returning to his car, a court heard.

After being informed of this, police drove to a Beecroft apartment complex where Dolan had parked his vehicle. Here, he was subject to a roadside breath test which returned a reading more than six times above the legal limit.

“(At the apartment) police could smell intoxicating liquor in the air … (and Dolan) was unsteady on his feet and slurring his words,” court documents state.

Dolan’s defence lawyer told the court her client should not be placed in jail because of his health issues and need for medical care.

“He’s a very unwell man … he’s gone downhill remarkably in the last couple of years,” the defence said.

But the prosecution said no alternative than full time custody was acceptable given the large number of matters which have already brought Dolan before the court.

Magistrate Margaret McGlynn agreed with the prosecution. “You have been down this path frequently, you have a terrible relationship with alcohol, you have placed the community at immense risk,” Ms McGlynn said.

“You sat in the car and you drank, then you started the car … you were drunk, so drunk.”

For his crimes, Dolan was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of seven months. The earliest he can be released is December 10, 2022.

Dolan’s defence lawyer indicated she will appeal the sentence and apply for bail.