Former Colorado town clerk gets probation for embezzlement; Judge knocks town for sloppiness, lack of accountability

A Colorado judge on Monday sentenced former Lakeside Town Clerk Brenda Hamilton, 51, to three years of probation and ordered her to repay the town $26,000 for her part in buying and selling town-owned cars that led to her pleading guilty to felony embezzlement in March.

"I apologize for my actions and take full responsibility," Hamilton said at the sentencing hearing. "I am a good person. I got caught up in the past of how Lakeside handled things."

"I didn't have any criminal intentions," the former town clerk continued.

Prosecutors had asked that Hamilton be jailed for 30 days, but Jefferson County Judge Philip McNulty rejected that request, noting that Hamilton had no criminal record and had a job.

McNulty said the case was "a reflection on the town of Lakeside. Their sloppy handling of their government, a lack of accountability, a lack of procedures."

McNulty went on to say, "this case wouldn't have even been noticed except for the media attention that started this, really, and thank God for that. We have the media that's able to do investigative reporting and spotlight this kind of government handling of property."

The criminal case stemmed from a 2023 CBS News Colorado investigation that found Hamilton bought at least three cars from the town's police fleet for below market value, then resold the cars and SUVs on the open market for thousands more, pocketing the profits.

A grand jury indicted her and her father, Robert Gordanier, who, at the time, was the town's mayor and police chief. Gordanier pleaded guilty earlier this year to felony embezzlement of public property and official misconduct and received four years' probation and also agreed to repay the town $26,000.

Hamilton's husband said at the sentencing hearing that what his wife had done was "standard operating procedure."

"This had been going on for many years prior to my wife showing up in Lakeside," he continued. "This is what they did. They took their dilapidated cars and they offered them to people within the department, family, and friends. It was their standard operating procedure."

He said that his wife, "never had intent to damage that town. That is not her heart."

Hamilton's attorney Robert Bernhardt asserted the same thing: "This is a practice that had been going on there for a long time." 

"This is what they were doing over there and she did it as well," Bernhardt said. He said the town's accounting and books were "a disaster."

Lakeside is a small town in Jefferson County that's home to 16 residents and an amusement park. Following the CBS Colorado investigation and indictments, the town attorney said changes in policies and procedures were made to address what had happened.