A new chief judge permanently took over leadership of Colorado’s Fifth Judicial District on Friday, three weeks after the former chief judge pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct involving a gun.
Paul Dunkelman will now serve as the chief judge for Clear Creek, Eagle, Lake and Summit counties, a spokesman for the Colorado Judicial Department said in a news release Friday.
Dunkelman replaces former chief judge Mark Thompson, who resigned his leadership role after he was arrested in October and accused of threatening someone with an AR-15-style rifle.
Thompson on Jan. 14 pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct with the display of a weapon. A felony charge of menacing with a weapon was dismissed as part of the plea agreement, court records show.
On July 25, 2021, Thompson threatened his 22-year-old stepson with a gun during an argument, The Vail Daily reported. The family has since reconciled, and Thompson apologized in court before he was sentenced, the newspaper reported.
“I’m not here to offer excuses or explanations,” Thompson said, according to The Vail Daily. “I behaved badly and am accountable for that as reflected in my plea today. I am humiliated and embarrassed.”
Thompson was sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation, court records show. He will also be required to complete anger management treatment, The Vail Daily reported.
Although Thompson resigned his leadership role as chief judge in the Fifth Judicial District, he will continue to serve as a district court judge over civil cases, Colorado Judicial Department spokesman Rob McCallum said in Friday’s release.
Thompson had been on paid leave while the criminal case against him was pending.
Dunkelman has been a district court judge since 2013, taking the bench after a 20-year career as an attorney. He served as interim chief judge immediately after Thompson’s arrest and will now take on the role permanently.