1982 bombing suspect arrested after living under assumed name for years: Prosecutors
He's been on the run for decades, wanted for attempted murder after a bomb he allegedly planted injured his estranged wife in Wyoming in 1982, according to authorities.
Now, 76-year-old Stephen Craig Campbell -- who has been living in New Mexico under the name and assumed identity of Walter Lee Coffman, according to the FBI -- is in custody after a dramatic arrest last week.
Authorities said Campbell's double life began unraveling after a 2019 renewal of his driver's license tipped off investigators that something wasn't right.
Campbell had originally been arrested for attempted murder in 1982 after authorities said he planted a bomb in a toolbox on the doorstep of his estranged wife's boyfriend. The bomb exploded when his wife opened the toolbox, causing her to lose a finger and suffer other injuries.
Campbell, who was also facing a federal firearm charge in connection with that incident, was released on bond in 1983 -- and then disappeared.
That's when, authorities now say, Campbell took on Coffman's identity.
Coffman, according to authorities, died at age 22 in 1975 and was buried in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Investigators believe Cambell and Coffman were both engineering students at the University of Arkansas in the mid 1970s, "suggesting a likely connection between the two," according to a court filing.
Over the years, Campbell was able to obtain a driver's license, U.S. passport and even a Social Security card in Coffman's name, authorities said.
In the 1990s, investigators said, "Campbell attempted to remove Coffman's death status from Social Security records by contesting the agency's record of Coffman's death" and by 1995, "succeeded in obtaining a replacement Social Security card in Coffman's name, using a Muskogee, Oklahoma address."
Campbell, living as Walter Coffman for decades, even applied for and received Social Security benefits to the tune of $140,000, according to court records.
It was a 2019 New Mexico driver's license renewal by Campbell, using Coffman's name, that apparently tipped off authorities, according to court documents
The renewal eventually triggered a check by agents from the National Passport Center's fraud detection unit. In 2024, those Diplomatic Security agents discovered Coffman had been long dead and suspected his identity had been used fraudulently for decades.
Last week, an FBI SWAT team, with support from Social Security Administration agents, Customs and Border Protection aircraft and Otero County Sheriff's deputies, executed a search warrant at a 44-acre plot of land in southern New Mexico that Campbell is believed to have owned in Coffman's name.
As agents approached the residence, Campbell allegedly greeted them dressed in camouflage, hearing protection and armed with a scoped .302 caliber FAL rifle, according to a detention memo filed in federal court in New Mexico.
Campbell "positioned himself in an elevated, partially concealed spot" along a tree line as SWAT agents approached in BearCats and deployed flashbangs. Campbell was initially unresponsive to callouts, but eventually was detained, court record said.
Prosecutors said the rifle was loaded with high-powered ammunition capable of piercing body armor, with the scope caps open, and was ready to fire.
Upon searching the property, FBI agents recovered a cache of weapons, including 57 firearms and large amounts of ammunition. Authorities also recovered fraudulent documents in Coffman's name, including a Social Security card and multiple passport cards.
An examination of his fingerprints after his arrest later confirmed Campbell's true identity, authorities said.
In addition to the original charges from 1982, Campbell is now charged with misuse of a passport. However, prosecutors said they are evaluating the possibility of additional charges against Campbell.
At a detention hearing on Wednesday, Campbell was ordered detained pending trial, with the judge citing Campbell as a flight risk
1982 bombing suspect arrested after living under assumed name for years: Prosecutors originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
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