A Stockton-born man who authorities say assumed the name of a dead classmate to elude arrest by FBI and U.S. marshals for four decades was taken into custody in New Mexico after an armed standoff.
The fugitive — Stephen Craig Campbell, 76 — was wanted for suspicion of attempted murder. He had assumed the identity of Walter Lee Coffman, who died at age 22, the U.S. attorney’s office in New Mexico said. Campbell and Coffman were both engineering students at the University of Arkansas, “suggesting a likely connection between the two,” federal authorities said.
Campbell had been on the run since 1983 when he failed to make a Wyoming court appearance in the attempted murder case. He was accused of planting a bomb on the doorstep of his estranged wife’s boyfriend. When his wife opened the toolbox in which the bomb was concealed, it exploded, causing her to lose part of a finger and other injuries, as well as setting the house on fire.
Campbell was arrested in the case and was out on bail when he failed to show up for a court appearance.
He applied for a passport in Coffman’s name the following year, federal prosecutors said. The application included a photo of himself and his address in Oklahoma at the time. It was renewed several times, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
By about 2003, Campbell had moved to Weed, New Mexico, after having had an Oklahoma driver’s license, Social Security card and other ID issued in Coffman’s name, prosecutors allege.
In 2019, Campbell visited the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division to renew his driver’s license. In addition to the driver’s license he already had, he also presented his passport and Social Security card — all of which were in Coffman’s name, authorities said.
After Campbell was issued a renewed New Mexico license under Coffman’s name, agents from the National Passport Center’s Fraud Prevention Unit discovered Coffman’s death and the fraudulent use of his identity. It also was discovered that Campbell had collected $140,000 in Social Security benefits as Coffman, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Authorities obtained warrants on Feb. 14 to arrest Campbell and search his 44-acre property in Weed that was registered under Coffman’s name. When they arrived, Campbell took a defensive stand armed with a scoped rifle, prosecutors said.
He eventually surrendered after officers deployed flash-bang grenades, and a search of his property uncovered 57 firearms and large quantities of ammunition, authorities said. As a fugitive, Campbell — whose true identity was confirmed with fingerprints — is prohibited from possessing firearms.
Campbell was charged with misuse of a passport and will remain in custody pending trial, the U.S. attorney’s office said. That charge carries a maximum 10 years in prison.
In addition, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office in Green River, Wyoming, has asked that he be detained on the attempted murder charge.