Robert Gordanier, former Lakeside police chief, fire chief and mayor, pleaded guilty to embezzlement Tuesday after a four-year car flipping scheme.

First Judicial District Judge Philip McNulty sentenced Gordanier to four years of supervised probation with a deferred sentence and a required $26,088 of restitution to the tiny Town of Lakeside on one embezzlement of public property conviction.

Gordanier also pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree official misconduct, leading to another four-year probation term which will run concurrently with the other sentence. The conviction will remain permanent, though, according to a news release from the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

A condition of probation is that Gordanier cannot hold any office or engage in any employment of public trust — including mayor, councilmember or peace officer — while serving probation.

Gordanier had been part of the 17-person town since 1967, acting as a mayor, fire chief, town trustee and police chief during his long tenure. He eventually stepped down from the mayor position in April 2024 and was fired by the police department in July.

His daughter and former Lakeside town clerk, Brenda Renee Hamilton, was also charged with 10 counts, including embezzlement and impersonating a police officer, in the a grand jury indictment signed in July. 

Starting in March 2018, according to the indictment, the Town of Lakeside bought cars from larger police organizations at auctions — supposedly to be used by the police department.

For example, the town purchased a Chevy Tahoe from the Glenwood Springs Police Department for $8,000 in April 2017, according to the indictment.

In September 2022, Hamilton either got the SUV for no cost or bought it for $300 in a sale approved by her father, court documents show.

Four months later, the indictment showed that Hamilton sold the Tahoe to a private citizen for between $6,000 and $7,000.

Similar instances of property theft happened with a Ford Fusion and a Dodge Charger, according to the indictment.

One Lakeside officer who wished to remain anonymous put it simply: “She was acquiring them for herself and selling them to the community.”

The indictment also showed a June 2023 incident when Hamilton went after a man in the Lakeside Mall Walmart parking lot in a police vehicle with the lights on, though she was not a police officer.

Hamilton is due in court for a disposition hearing on Jan. 29. 

Chief Deputy District Attorney Darren Kafka said in the press release that Gordanier’s actions represented “a significant breach of public trust, undermining confidence in both our government institutions and law enforcement everywhere.”

Denver Gazette reporter Carol McKinley contributed to this report.