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Marc Giauque reportingA preliminary hearing will continue later this summer for a man accused of impersonating an officer and robbing people he pulled over.
Christopher Mark Topham retired from the Utah Highway Patrol in 2003 after 12 years on the job.
Prosecutors allege some four years after he retired, Topham wore an old highway patrol jacket and badge, carried a gun and made several stops along I-70 in Sevier County. He then allegedly used the opportunity to steal items from people's cars and wallets.
The first of several witnesses testified in Richfield Monday that the suspect ordered him out of his car so he could search for drugs or weapons. When he returned to the car, the money he had inside was gone.
Prosecutors claim Topham stole more than $9,000 in a one-month period last year.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
