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LEADVILLE, Colo. (KDVR) — Facing a lawsuit and a number of criminal investigations, the Lake County coroner has resigned.

The Board of Commissioners in Lake County accepted Shannon Kent’s resignation during a Monday afternoon board meeting.

Kent’s decision came on Friday April 30, the same day a petition effort to gather 692 signatures for a recall effort failed.

Citizens turned in 694 signatures but many were found to be invalid. The Lake County clerk accepted 556 and rejected 138.

In February, Summit County prosecutors charged Kent and his wife Staci Kent for tampering with a deceased body.

The two are accused of leaving the body of a California man in a coffin for more than six months at a Silverthorne mortuary they once owned.

In December, the state of Colorado revoked Kent’s licensure at each of the of the funeral home and crematory businesses he owned. The Department of Regulatory Agencies found Kent to be in violations of law that require documentation for human remains, and proper handling of cremains.

Shannon Kent was already facing legal troubles after Lake County Sheriff Deputies executed a search warrant in December of 2019 at his Leadville mortuary where investigators found a body not refrigerated and paperwork scattered everywhere.

In addition, Kent is facing a civil lawsuit from a couple who claims he mixed the cremains of their stillborn baby with ashes from an adult along with metal pieces.

Kent’s resignation takes effect Aug. 1 unless the county is able to appoint his replacement before then.