January

Summit County judge pleads guilty to a misdemeanor. Months later, he resigns from office.

The new year kicked off a bit rocky as 5th Judicial District Judge Mark Thompson pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a Class 2 misdemeanor, on Friday, Jan. 14, after he threatened his stepson with an “AR-15 style rifle” in July 2021. Thompson accepted a plea deal negotiated between his defense attorney and Brian Hassing, a special prosecutor from the 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which lowered his original charge from felony menacing to disorderly conduct.

As a result, Thompson was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation given his lack of a criminal history, Judge Sean P. Finn of the 17th Judicial District said Friday. Thompson will also be required to forfeit the firearm involved in the crime.

Thompson returned to the bench days after pleading guilty. But then in August, the Colorado Supreme Court issued Thompson an unpaid 30-day suspension. He was suspended without pay from Oct. 15 to Nov. 13.

Days after returning to the bench from his suspension, Thompson reportedly threatened a pair of lawyers with jail time, leaving one “frightened” and “fearful,” according to court records.

In December, Thompson officially announced his