The former town clerk of a tiny metro Denver municipality was sentenced to three years probation for her part in an embezzlement scheme involving buying and flipping police cars for profit, according to the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Brenda Renee Hamilton, 52, pleaded guilty in March to one count of embezzlement of public property, a felony, and agreed to pay $26,088 back to the town of Lakeside.
Hamilton and her father, Lakeside’s former mayor, police and fire chief Robert Joel Gordanier, were indicted by a grand jury in July on charges of embezzlement, theft and misconduct after a CBS Colorado report found Gordanier signed off on buying police vehicles from other jurisdictions and selling them to Hamilton at a fraction of their market value.
Hamilton would then sell them for a considerable profit, according to investigators. She was also accused of impersonating a police officer and improperly using the town’s credit card to pay for her Costco membership and a $500 personal shopping trip at the warehouse.
While prosecutors argued Hamilton should serve time in jail, District Court Judge Phillip McNulty cited Hamilton’s lack of criminal history, willingness to pay restitution and the lifelong impact of a felony conviction in sentencing her to probation, the DA’s office said in a news release.
Gordanier also pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to four years of probation in January.
Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.
Originally Published: May 6, 2025 at 12:31 PM MDT
