Lakeside police chief, daughter indicted in car-flipping embezzlement scheme

Lakeside Police Chief Robert Gordanier and his daughter, the town clerk, were indicted on charges of embezzlement, theft and misconduct by a grand jury, according to the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

The grand jury investigation began after a CBS Colorado report found Gordanier, who was also mayor of the small Jefferson County town, signed off on purchasing police vehicles from other jurisdictions and selling them to his daughter, Town Clerk Brenda Hamilton, for a fraction of their market value.

Hamilton would then resell the vehicles for a considerable profit, according to CBS Colorado’s reporting and confirmed by a news release from the district attorney’s office Thursday.

The town first purchased a black Dodge Charger at a law enforcement auction in March 2018 and sold it to Hamilton in July 2021 for $500 when the fair market value was $8,588, according to the district attorney’s office. Hamilton later resold the vehicle.

Town officials then purchased a Ford Fusion at a discounted price from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office in September 2021 and sold it to Hamilton for $1,000 three months later, who then sold it to a third party for $12,000.

And town officials purchased a Chevy Tahoe from the Glenwood Springs Police Department in 2017, which was then sold to Hamilton for $300 in September 2022. She then resold it for approximately $7,000.

The vehicles were sold to Hamilton with Gordanier’s approval, according to the district attorney’s office.

Hamilton is also accused of impersonating a police officer in July 2023 when she was in a police vehicle and turned on the lights to try to detain a suspicious person. She also used a town credit card to pay for her Costco membership and buy nearly $500 in items from the store that were not for the town’s use, according to the district attorney’s office.